George  Washington  Flowers 
Memorial  Collection 


DUKE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 


ESTABLISHED  BY  THE 
FAMILY  OF 
COLONEL  FLOWERS 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2014 


https://archive.org/details/historyoforganch02coxg 


HISTORY 

OF 

ORGAN  CHURCH, 

ROWAN  COUNTY,  N.  C., 

WITH  AN  ACCOUNT 

OF  THE 

CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION 

of  y 

THE  FIRST  EDIFICE, 

MAY  6,  1894. 


BY 

REV.  GEO.  H.  COX,  A.  M. 


NEWBERRY,  S.  C. 
AULL  &  HOUSEAL,  PUBLISHERS  AND  PRINTERS, 
1894. 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  Lutheran  Church  in  the  United  States  has  been  making  history.  Until 
recently  the  writing  of  that  history  has  been  neglected,  and  especially  in  our 
Southern  Church.  She  has  a  grand  history  and  one  that  she  need  not  be  ashamed 
to  have  recorded  and  preserved.  Her  members  were  among  the  pioneers  in  settling 
and  developing  this  country  and  they  have  ever  stood  in  the  forefront  of  progress. 
The  gathering  and  preserving  of  local  history  lays  the  foundation  and  furnishes 
the  material  for  the  work  of  the  writer  of  the  more  extended  and  general  history. 

When  it  was  determined  to  hold  the  centennial  of  the  building  of  Organ 
church  and  to  have  historical  addresses  delivered,  the  publishers  of  The  Visitor, 
Messrs.  Aull  &  Houseal,  at  once  determined  to  get,  if  possible,  a  history  of  the 
congregation  and  publish  it  in  The  Visitor,  and  afterwards  put  it  in  more  con- 
venient and  permanent  shape.  A  letter  was  addressed  to  the  pastor,  Rev.  Geo.  H. 
Cox,  and  he  at  once  set  about  gathering  the  material,  and  as  a  result  furnished 
the  excellent  sketch  which  is  given  here.  Since  publishing  it  in  The  Visitor  it 
has  been  revised  and  added  to,  and  we  present  it  confident  of  its  accuracy  and 
completeness.  Rev.  Mr.  Cox  has  been  painstaking  and  has  exhausted  all  the  re- 
sources at  his  command  for  data. 

The  historical  addresses  by  Drs.  Bernheim  and  Peschau  are  also  valuable  con- 
tributions to  the  history  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  North  Carolina. 

The  proceedings  of  the  exercises  of  the  Centennial  are  written  by  the  writer 
of  this  introduction,  he  having  had  the  pleasure  of  being  present  and  witnessing 
the  same. 

We  feel  that  this  little  pamphlet  is  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  history  of 
the  Lutheran  Church  in  the  South  and  that  it  contains  much  that  will  be  helpful 
and  instructive  to  those  who  will  read  it.  We  send  it  forth  with  the  hope  that  it 
may  prove  a  ray  of  light  and  an  encouragement  to  others.  When  we  know  the 
trials  and  hardships  of  our  ancestors  and  compare  them  with  our  own  we  should 
take  courage  and  thank  God  that  ours  is  such  a  goodly  heritage. 

E.  H.  AULL. 

Newberry,  S.  C,  June  12,  /Sp/. 


THE  FLOWERS  COLLECTION 

HISTORY  OF  ORGAN  CHURCH, 


THE  OLD  ORGAN  CHURCH  AS  IT  APPEARED  FROM  1794  TO  1893. 


ZION,  everywhere  and  by  everybody  known  as  Organ  church,  is  situated 
in  Rowan  county,  N.  C.  It  is  in  the  midst  of  a  large  Lutheran  popula- 
tion represented  by  twenty-cne  congregations  numbering  over  four 
thousand  confirmed  members,  and  is  one  of  the  old  mother  churches  of 
the  Caroliuas.  The  exact  date  of  the  first  organization  is  not  known,  but 
was  in  all  probability  between  1765  and  1770.  The  history  of  its  con- 
temporary, the  venerable  St.  John's,  of  Salisbury,  N  0.,  and  its  own  his- 
tory are  closely  interwoven.  The  first  date,  positively  known,  is  that 
of  17G7,  when  a  plot  of  ground  was  deeded  to  the  church  at  Salisbury, 
thereby  showing  that  then,  at  least,  that  congregation  was  already  organ- 
ized. There  are  good  reasons  for  believing  that  Organ  was  organized 
about  the  same  time;  and  that  the  congregation  is,  therefore,  not  less 
than  one  hundred  and  twenty- seven  years  old.  At  the  lowest  estimate 
she  is  one  of  the  very  oldest  congregations  in  all  this  section  of  country; 
a  landmark  reaching  away  back  before  the  Revolutionary  war,  to  the 
time  of  King  George  III,  and  embracing  in  its  history,  from  then 
until  now,  many  events,  pregnant  with  interest  and  importance. 

The  original  members  and  founders  of  the  congregation  were  emi- 
grants from  Pennsylvania,  commonly  known  as  the  Pennsylvania  Dutch; 
of  whom  Dr.  G.  O.  Bernheim,  in  his  history  of  the  "German  Settlements 
and  the  Lutheran  Church  in  the  Carolina?,"  says:  "They  were  all  indus- 


4 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


trious,  economical  and  thrifty  farmers,  not  afraid  nor  ashamed  of  hard 
labor,  and  were  soon  blessed  with  an  abundance  of  everything,  which  the 
fertile  soil  and  temperate  climate  of  that  portion  of  North  Carolina  could 
furnish  them.  As  they  were  all  agriculturists,  they  generally  avoided 
settling  themselves  in  towns.  Uninformed  in  the  ways  of  the  world, 
ignorant  of  the  English  language,  and  unacquainted  with  the  shrewdness 
necessary  for  merchandizing,  yet  well  informed  in  their  own  language, 
and  well  read  in  their  Bibles  and  other  devotional  German  books." 

A  remarkable  characteristic  of  these  hardy  pioneers  was  their  love 
for  the  Church  of  the  fatherland;  and  hence,  so  soon  as  a  sufficient 
number  had  settled  in  a  community,  they  organized  their  congregations 
and  erected  their  churches  and  schoolhouses,  looking  in  faith  to  the  future, 
when  they  should  have  their  own  pastors  and  teachers.  They  have 
retained  these  same  characteristics  to  the  present  day. 

Here,  as  in  many  other  parts  of  our  country,  the  early  settlers  were  com- 
posed of  Lutherans  and  German  Reformed,  who  were  closely  united  by 
the  ties  of  affinity  and  consanguinity.  Neither  were  strong  enough  to  erect 
and  maintain  churches  of  their  own,  and  hence  they,  together,  erected  a 
temporary  building  to  be  owned  and  used  by  themselves  jointly.  This 
ivas  the  first  house  of  worship,  and  from  the  material  of  which  it  was 
built,  was  called  "The  Hickory  Church."  It  was  located  about 
seven  miles  from  where  Organ  church  now  stands,  where  is  now  St.  Peter's 
church,  served  at  present  by  Rev.  W.  P.  Huddle. 

This  house  was  erected  prior  to  1772,  for  we  know  that  in  that  year  a 
delegation  was  sent  to  the  fatherland  in  search  of  a  pastor,  who  came  the 
next  year  and  held  services  there.  Exactly  when  it  was  built,  or  for  how 
long  a  time  they  worshipped  there,  it  is  impossible  now  to  tell.  The  in- 
formation that  we  have  is  very  indefinite  and  confusing.  But  this  we 
do  know,  it  was  intended  to  be  only  temporary.  The  ground  upon  which 
it  stood  was  not  deeded  to  them,  and  it  was  abandoned  as  soon  as 
they  had  provided  for  themselves  other  accommodations. 

The  history  of  the  congregation  from  1772  up  until  the  coming  of 
Rev.  C.  A.  G.  Storch  in  1788  is  all  but  a  blank.  No  records  can  be 
found  covering  that  period.  But  from  the  traditions  held  by  the  peo- 
ple, as  well  as  the  fact  of  the  long  years  that  elapsed  until  the  comple- 
tion of  the  present  building,  it  is  the  conviction  of  the  writer  that,  from 
some  cause  not  now  known,  disagreements  arose,  and  a  separation  took 
place  between  the  Lutherans  and  Reformed  about  the  year  1774,  and 
that  then  another  building,  also  of  hickory  logs,  was  erected  near  where 
the  church  now  stands,  in  which  they  worshipped  until  the  present  house 
was  ready  for  use. 

The  following  is  a  record  made  in  the  old  church  book  by  Rev. 
C.  A.  G.  Storch,  dated  January  31,  1789: 

"Im  1774ten  yahre  nach  Christ's  Geburt,  fingen  folgende  Mitglieder 
unserer  Gemeinde  die  so  genamte  Orgelkirche  zu  bauen,  nemlich. 

"Georg  Ludwig  Siffert,  Wendel  Miller,  Peter  Edelmann,  Johannes 
Steigerwalt,  Philipp  Grass,  Peter  Steigerwalt,  Michael  Gulhmann, 
<3hristoph  Bless,  Leonhard  Siffert,  Jacob  Klein,  Anton  Jruhn,  Georg 
Heinrich  Berger,  Christoph  Gulhmann,  Johannes  Rintelmann,  Jo- 
hannes Eckel,  Bastian  Lenz,  Jacob  Benz,  Georg  Eckel,  Franz  Ober- 
kirsch,  Johannes  Jose,  Heinrich  Wenzel." 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


5 


The  translation  of  the  above  is  that,  In  the  1774th  year  after  the 
birth  of  Christ,  the  following  members  of  onr  congregation  began  to 
build  the  so  called  Organ  church. 

According  to  this  they  were  twenty  years  in  building  it.  And,  judging 
from  the  size  of  the  house,  and  the  material  of  which  it  is  built,  they 
surely  must  have  been  that  long  if  not  longer.  They  were  all  farmers, 
dependent  upon  their  labors  on  the  farm  for  their  support,  with  none 
of  the  modem  labor-saving  machinery.  They  mast,  therefore,  have  de- 
voted to  the  work  of  building,  only  that  part  of  the  year  that  could  best 
be  spared  from  the  farm.  That,  we  know,  would  be  but  comparatively  a 
short  time  in  each  year.  At  any  rate  the  building  was  not  completed  until 
1794,  that  date  yet  being  plainly  visible  in  the  gable  of  the  building 
in  the  original  figures  carved  there  one  hundred  years  ago.  The  house 
is  about  forty  feet  wide,  fifty  feet  long,  and  twenty-five  feet  from  the 
ground  to  the  wall-plates.  The  walls  are  built  entirely  of  stone. 
Not  hewn  or  dressed  stone,  such  as  we  use  at  the  present  day,  but  rough, 
uncut  stone,,  just  as  it  was  formed  by  nature.  Where  they  procured  this 
stone  is  a  mystery,  as  there  is  none  like  it  anywhere  around  here.  They 
must  have  brought  it  from  a  considerable  distance. 


THE  REMODELED  CHURCH,  SHOWING  THE  GRAVEYARD. 


When  we  take  all  of  these  things  into  consideration  we  can  easily  un- 
derstand how  it  c^uld  have  taken  them  so  long  a  time  to  co  nplete  the 
building.  The  fbor,  also,  was  laid  of  large  flat  stones.  Tli3  writer  has 
seen  one  of  these,  now  used  as  a  stepping-stone  at  the  door  of  tiie 
residence  of  one  of  the  families  of  the  congregation;  and  as  he 
gazed  upon  it  he  could  not  refrain  from  thinking  that  upm  this 
stone,  do  doubt,  has  stepped  in  the  ages  past,  Nussmam,  and  Am  it,  and 
Storch;  and  that  if  it  could  speak  it  could  tell  many  things  of  the  strug- 


6 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


tries,  difficulties  and  triumphs  of  those  Ifardy  pioneers,  who,  amid 
all  their  unpropitious  surroundings,  built  so  strongly  and  so  well. 

The  old  pulpit  was,  of  course,  goblet-shaped,  with  its  sounding- 
board  overhead,  and  built  up  high  against  the  wall,  with  winding  steps 
to  ascend,  after  the  custom  of  that  day.  It  has,  however,  long  ago  dis- 
appeared and  its  place  is  now  occupied  by  one  of  more  modern  style. 

On  three  sides  of  the  auditorium  there  is  a  capacious  gallery 
with  stairs  leading  up  from  either  side,  where  facing  the  pulpit 
stood  for  years  and  years,  the  old  pipe  organ,  from  which  the 
church  derives  its  popular  name  of  "The  Organ  Church."  It  was 
built  in  the  house,  entirely  by  hand,  by  a  Mr.  Stigerwalt,  a  member 
of  the  congregation,  and  was  one  amongst  the  very  first  pipe  organs 
ever  built  ir,  America,  and  the  first  of  any  laud  in  any  church  in  North 
Carolina.  It  possessed  none  of  the  external  beauty  and  symmetry  of 
the  pipe  organs  of  our  day  and  time,  but  it  was  well  adapted  to  its 
surroundings  and  the  object  for  which  it  was  made;  and  for  long 
years  its  deep,  majestic,  solemn  voice  led  the  congregation  in  its  service 
of  praise;  or  wailed  out  its  slow,  heart-searching  funeral  dirge  as  the 
body  of  one  after  another  of  the  people  was  carried  out  to  the  silent  city 
of  the  dead,  hard-by.  Like  its  builder,  and  the  many  who  loved  it, 
and  who  for  many  years,  from  childhood  through  youth  and  manhood 
down  to  old  age,  had  united  their  voices  with  its  mellow  tones,  it  grad- 
ually yielded  to  the  inroads  of  time  and  use,  growing  each  year  weaker 
and  weaker,  until,  at  length,  its  work  was  done.  Then,  for  a  long  time,  it 
stood  there  in  the  gallery,  voiceless  and  shattered,  a  relic  and  reminder 
of  by -gone  days. 

The  people  loved  it,  cherished  it,  and  venerated  it;  and  even  yet  in 
speaking  of  it,  use  only  hushed  and  reverential  tones.  It  has  long  since 
been  removed  from  its  old  place  in  the  gallery,  and  its  parts  have  be- 
come broken  and  scattered.  Many  portions  of  it  are  carefully  preserved 
as  relics.  The  present  pastor  has  in  his  possession  the  old  C  sharp  pipe, 
as  perfect  in  form  and  clear  in  tone  as  when  it  was  made  over  one  hun 
dred  years  ago. 

The  congregation  has  had  made,  from  its  remains,  many  yardsticks, 
that  are  eagerly  sought  for,  and  highly  treasured  in  remembrance  of  the 
old  organ. 

Daring  the  pastorship  of  Rev.  W.  E.  Brown,  who  faithfully  served  the 
congregation  for  seven  and  one- half  years,  ending  January  14,  1894,  the 
house  was  very  greatly  improved  and  beautified  at  a  cost  of  nearly  one 
thousand  doll  irs.  The  walls  were  cleansed  and  pointed  up:  a  new,  self- 
supporting  ronf,  with  metal  shingles,  was  placed  upon  the  building;  all 
the  wood  work,  inside  and  out,  was  fivshly  painted;  the  floors  nicely 
carpeted;  and  many  other  things  done,  which  have  added  much  to  its 
beauty  and  comfort;  and  stand  as  an  evidence  of  the  energy,  perseverance 
and  successful  work  of  the  pastor;  and  of  the  life,  church-pride  and 
church-love  of  the  people. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  all  the  pastors  that  have  ever  served  Organ 
church,  together  with  the  dates  and  length  of  their  service: 

Rev.  Adolphus  Xussmann,  1773-1774,  1  year. 

Rev.  Gottfried  Arndt,  1775-1785,  10  years. 

Rev.  Adolphus  Nussmann,  17  5-1787,  2  years. 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


7 


The  church  was  now  vacant  for  one  year  and  was  visited  occasionally 
by  Rev.  Arndt. 

Rev.  C.  A.  G.  Storch,  1788-1823,  35  vears. 

Rev.  Daniel  Scherer,  1823-1829,  6  years. 

Rev.  Jacob  Kaerapfer,  1829-1832,  3  years. 

Rev.  Henry  Graeber,  1832-1843,  11  years. 

Rev.  Samuel  Ro'  brock,  1844-1866,  22  years. 

Rev.  W.  H.  Cone,  January  1,  1866-May  1,  1866,  4  months. 

Rev.  Wm.  Artz,  May  1,  1866. 

Rev.  Samuel  Rothrock,  July  1,  1868-January  1,  1869,  6  months. 
Revs.  S.  Scherer  and  W.  H.  Cone,  1869-1870,  1  year. 
Rev.  W.  H.  Cone,  January  1, 18  /0-May  1, 1873, 3  years  and  4  months. 
Rev.  W.  R.  Ketchie,  June  1873-January  1874,  7  months. 
Rev.  P.  A.  Strobel,  January  1,  1874— October  1,  1875,  1  year,  9 
months. 

Rev.  Samuel  Rothrock,  January  1,  1876-January  1,  1886,  10  years. 
Rev.  W.  R.  Brown,  July  1,  1886-January  1,  1894,  7|  years. 
Rev.  Geo.  H.  Cox.  February  1,  1894. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  during  all  these  years,  from  1773,  when  Rev. 
Nussmann  first  came,  up  to  the  present  day,  one  hundred  and  twenty - 
one  years,  the  congregation  has  been  but  one  year  without  a  pastor. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  present  members  of  the  council  of 
Organ  church: 

Elders— Laurence  Kluttz,  Alexander  Powlass,  Milas  A.  Holshouser, 
Eli  Holshouser. 

Deacons — Luther  C.  Miller,  A.  L.  Lyerly,  Charles  E.  Bost,  Orlin 
Cruse. 

At  the  east  end  of  the  church  and  just  a  short  distance  from  it  is  the 
old  graveyard;  the  Todtenacker  of  our  fathers.    It  covers  an  area  of 


the:  present  parsonage. 


8 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


about  two  and  oue  half  acres,  and  is  now  nearly  full.  It  is  surrounded 
by  a  stone  wall,  about  five  feet  high,  built  of  immense  stones,  some  of 
them  ten  feet  long  and  three  feet  wide.  It  is  a  standing  wonder  how 
they  ever  brought  them  here,  and  put  them  in  their  places.  But  here 
they  are  and  have  been  for  over  a  hundred  years,  and  probably  will  be 
for  hundreds  of  years  to  come.. 

Withio  these  walls  lie  buried  the  generations  that  have  come  and  gone 
during  nearly  a  century  and  a  half.  Many  of  the  graves  are  unmarked 
and  unknown,  and  no  one  knows  how  many  are  buried  here.  Here,  within 
these  sacred  precincts,  just  to  the  right  of  the  gate  as  you  enter  from 
the  church,  lie  the  remains  of  Rev.  C.  A.  G.  Storch,  and  Rev.  Henry 
Graeber,  the  third  and  sixth  pastors,  of  the  congregation.  Here,  also,  are 
buried  Rev.  Joseph  A.  Linn  and  Rev.  Daniel  I.  Dreher  and  hosts  of  Others 
who  have  been  known  and  loved  and  honored  in  the  church  here,  before 
they  were  called  to  the  Church  in  heaven.    Requiescat  in  pace ! 

The  parsonage  was  built  during  the  administration  of  Rev.  W.  R. 
Brown,  and  is  another  mark  of  his  successful  work  while  here.  It  is  a 
neat  frame  building  containing  six  rooms,  and  is  finished  in  good  style 
and  excellent  taste  both  inside  and  out.  It  stands  upon  a  beautiful  and 
commanding  elevation,  overlooking  the  church. 

This,  together  with  the  necessary  out -buildings,  makes  a  pleasant  and 
convenient  home  for  the  pastor,  and  is  justly  the  pride  of  the  whole  con- 
gregation. 


History  of  Organ  Church.  9 

SKETCH  OF  THE  PASTORS, 


Rev.  Adolphus  Nussmann. 

In  1772,  Organ  church  of  Rowan  county,  and  St.  John's  church  of, 
then  Mecklenburg,  now  Cabarrus  county,  after  having,  no  doubt,  ex- 
hausted every  effort  to  secure  a  pastor  from  the  older  settlements  in 
Pennsylvania,  determined  to  send  a  delegation  to  the  fatherland,  to  ap- 
peal to  their  countrymen  and  brethren  in  the  faith,  to  send  them  a  pastor 
and  school-teacher;  that  they  might  have  the  blessed  Word  preached  to 
them,  and  that  their  children  might  be  taught  the  things  necessary  for 
them  to  know.  Accordingly  Christopher  Rintelmann,  of  Organ,  and 
Christopher  Layrely,  of  St.  John's,  two  brave,  strong,  honest,  consecrated 
men  of  God,  representing  sixty  families,  undertook  the  long  arid  hazardous 
journey  at  their  own  expense,  returning  safely  in  1773,  and  bringing  with 
them  the  Rev.  Adolphus  Nussmann  as  their  pastor,  and  Mr.  Gottfried  Arndt 
as  their  school-teacher. 

Thus  Nussmann  became  their  first  pastor,  and  the  pioneer  minister  of 
the  Lutheran  Church  in  the  State  of  North  Carolina. 

He  was  a  learned,  devct  d,  and  self-denying  Christian  minister,  who 
won  the  praise,  admiration  and  love,  not  only  of  those  with  whom  he 
came  in  personal  contact,  but  of  all  who  had  any  knowledge  of  him. 

He  first  locate:!  in  Rowan  county,  but  soon  removed  to  Mecklenburg, 
where,  as  Dr.  Bernheim  says  he  was  shortly  "united  in  marriage  to  Bar- 
bara Layrely,  a  daughter  of  Christopher  Layrely,  one  of  the  deputies 
sent  to  Germany  to  bring  pastors  and  teachers  to  North  Carolina.  With 
her  he  lived  in  blissful  harmony,  and  was  the  father  of  several  sons  and 
daughters,  none  of  whom  are  now  living;  but  his  grandchildren  and 
descendants  to  the  fifth  generation  are  still  to  be  met  with  in  central 
North  Carolina,  respected  by  all  who  are  acquainted  with  them." 

On  November  3,  1794,  being  a  little  over  fifty-five  years  of  age,  he 
sweetly  fell  on  sleep  and  was  buried  in  old  St.  John's  graveyard,  Cabarrus 
county,  North  Carolina. 

A  stone  was  placed  to  mark  the  spot,  upon  which  was  inscribed: 
"Christus  ist  mein  Leben,  Sterben  ist  mein  Gewinn.  Das  Andenken 
der  Gerechten  bleibet  im  Segen.  Hier  ruhen  aie  Gebeine  des  treuen 
Predigers,  Adolph  Nussmann,  in  Deutschland  geboren,  im  August, 
1739,  gestorben  den  3ten  November,  1794." 

The  translation  is:  "For  me  to  live  is  Christ,  to  die  is  gain.  The 
memory  of  the  righteous  is  blessed.  Here  lie  the  remains  of  the  faithful 
preacher,  Adolphus  Nussmann,  born  in  Germany,  August,  1739,  died  No- 
vember 3d,  1794." 

Rev.  Gottfried  Arndt. 

Gottfried  Arndt,  the  school-teacher,  as  we  have  seen,  came  over  with 
Nussmann  in  1773.  He  was  engaged  in  giving  instructions  to  the  children 
and  youths  until  1775,  when  he  was  ordained  to  the  Gospel  ministry.  He 
thus  became  the  first  Lutheran  minister  ordained  in  North  Carolina,  and 
the  second  pastor  of  Organ  church,  which  he  served  faithfully  and  true, 
for  ten  years,  and  then,  in  the  words  of  Dr.  Bernheim,  "removed  to  Lin- 
coln county  and  became  the  acknowledged  founder  of  the  Lutheran 
church  west  of  the  Catawba  river." 


10 


'History  of  Organ  Church. 


He  had  the  honor  of  being  one  of  the  ministers  who  participated  in 
the  organization  of  the  North  Carolina  Synod  in  1803,  and  his  name  is 
connected  with  many  of  the  important  events  that  transpired  in  the 
church  from  then  until  his  death. 

Rev.  C.  A.  0.  Storch. 

Rev.  C.  A.  G.  Storch  was  ordained  in  Germany  and  immediately  started 
for  his  distant  held  of  labor  in  North  Carolina  arriving  there  in  September, 
1788,"  and  at  once  became  the  third  pastor  of  Organ  Church. 

An  old  gentleman,  Col.  Jno.  Shimpoch,  of  Mt.  Pleasant,  N.  C, 
who  often  heard  Rev.  Storch  preach  and  who  remembers  him  well  has 
given  me  the  following  description  of  his  personal  appearance:  "A  small 
man,  medium  height,  slim  and  spare-made;  with  fair  skin,  blueish  grey 
eyes,  and  snow-white  hair." 

He  was  a  man  of  remarkable  ability;  a  close  and  careful  student,  and 
thoroughly  well  acquainted  with  all  questions  of  doctrine  and  church 
polity. 

Dr.  E.  J.  Wolf,  in  the  Lutheran  Quarterly  for  April  1889,  says:  "He 
had  received  University  training,  and  possessed  a  wide  range  of  knowledge. 
His  preaching  was  accordingly  interesting  and  edifying  to  all  classes; 
for  his  thoughts  were  presented  with  such  admirable  perspicuity  that 
the  most  illiterate  could  comprehend  them;  and  yet  they  were  so  rich  and 
elevated,  and  often  powerful,  that  the  best  educated  minds  could  not 
but  admire  them." 

For  thirty-five  years,  consecutively,  he  was  the  loved  and  honored 
pastor  of  Organ  church,  and  resigned  only  because  of  ill  health,  and  ina- 
bility to  perform  the  duties  of  the  office.  Then  for  eight  years  he  suffered 
much  bodily  pain,  and  died  March  27,  1831,  in  the  full  triumphs  of  a  living 
faith. 

During  his  pastorship,  he  baptized  fifteen  hundred  children  and  con- 
firmed thirteen  hundred  young  people  in  Organ  church  alone. 

He,  also,  was  one  of  the  ministers  who  participated  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  North  Carolina  Synod;  was  its  first  president;  and  was  an- 
nually elected  to  the  office  whenever  he  was  present. 

He  was  buried  in  the  Organ  church  graveyard.  A  large  horizon- 
tal slab  of  marble  marks  the  spot  upon  which  is  the  following  inscrip- 
tion, in  English: 

"Sacred  to  the  memory  of  the  Rev.  Charles  A.  G.  Storch,  pastor  of 
the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church;  who  was  born  on  the  16th  day  of 
June,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1764,  and  departed  this  life  on  the  27th 
day  of  March,  1831.    Aged  60  years,  9  months  and  10  days. 

"His  creed  was  founded  firm 

On  the  Eternal  Rock. 
When  he  departed  hence, 

How  solemn  was  the  shock! 
Throughout  his  former  station 

His  voice  he  echoes  still, 
Work  out  your  soul's  salvation, 

And  learn  to  do  God's  will. 
Celestial  habitation, 

In  which  the  angels  bow, 
To  such  a  congregation 

Your  shepherd  is  gone  now." 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


11 


Rev.  Diniel  Scherer. 

The  fourth  pastor  of  Organ  church  was  Rev.  Daniel  Scherer;  who  was 
born  in  Guilford  county,  N.  C,  in  thi3  year  1794.  He  was  the  imme- 
diate successor  of  Rev.  Storch.  He  was  a  man  of  most  excellent  parts 
and  qualities,  and  labored  successfully  for  six  years  amoagsfc  the  peo- 
ple, by  whom  he  was  very  much  loved.  During  these  years  many 
from  Organ  and  other  Lutheran  congregations  were  removing  to  the 
wild  Western  territories.  Rev.  Scherer  felt  a  strong  desire  to  follow  them 
in  spiritual  things.  Accordingly  in  1829  he  resigned  and  removed  to 
Illinois  where  for  years  he  labored,  accomplishing  much  for  the  Luth- 
eran Church  in  those  parts.  He  died  in  1852  and  was  buried  at  Mt. 
Carmel,  111. 

Kev.  Jacob  Eacmpfer. 

The  successor  to  Rev.  Scherer,  and  thus  the  fifth  pastor  of  Organ  church, 
was  Rev.  Jacob  Kaempfer.  He  was  a  graduate  of  the  Theological  Sem- 
inary at  Gettysburg,  Penn.,  from  whence  he  came,  immediately  after 
graduation,  to  North  Carolina.  Upon  recommendation  of  Rev.  Dr.  S.  S. 
Schmucker  he  was  at  once  admitted  as  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina 
Synod  in  the  year  1828  and  became  pastor  of  Organ  church  in  1829.  He 
served  the  congregation  faithfully  for  a  term  of  three  years,  and  then 
removed  to  other  fields. 

Rev.  Henry  Graeber. 

The  sixth  pastor  of  Organ  church  was  Rev.  Henry  Graeber.  Rev.  Wm- 
Artz,  president  of  the  North  Carolina  Synod  in  his  annual  report  to 
the  synod  in  1844,  says:  "The  Rev.  Henry  Graeber,  was  born  of  Chris- 
tian parents  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
1798,  the  28th  day  of  January.  He  prosecuted  the  study  of  divinity 
chiefly  under  the  able  and  pious  instructions  of  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Nel- 
scheimer  and  Lochman.  He  obtained  license  to  preach  the  gospel  from 
the  synod  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  on  the  7th  of  June  in  the  year  1818; 
and  was  shortly  afterwards  set  apart  to  this  holy  work  by  the  imposition 
of  hands  and  prayer.  Nine  years  of  his  ministerial  life  he  spent  as  pas- 
tor of  several  congregations  in  Frederick  county,  Md.,  and  the  remaining 
sixteen  years  were  spent  in  several  congregations  in  Lincoln,  Rowan  and 
Cabarrus  counties  in  the  bounds  of  our  synod  of  which  he  was  an  effi- 
cient member,  and  in  which  he  repeatedly  filled  with  honor  the  highest 
offices.  (Eleven  of  these  years  he  was  pastor  of  Organ.)  He  was  a 
liberal  supporter  of  benevolent  institutions,  and  a  warm  and  decided 
friend  of  an  enlightened  and  educated  ministry.  He  was  himself  an 
able  and  faithful  minister  of  the  New  Testament,  rightly  dividing  the 
word  of  eternal  truth,  and  giving  to  both  saints  and  sinners  their  portion 
in  due  season.  And  I  need  not  add,  in  the  presence  of  those  who  knew 
him  long,  and  who  knew  him  well,  that  through  the  course  of  his  min- 
isterial life,  he  uniformly  ^adorned  the  doctrines  which  he  preached  by 
zeal,  fidelity,  firmness  and  charity,  and  all  those  virtues  that  are  so  es- 
sential to  the  character  of  the  Christian  minister.  He  died  of  nervous 
fever  on  the  11th  of  September,  1843." 

During  his  pastorship  he  confirmed  two  hundred  and  fifty-one 
young  people,  as  members  of  Organ  church. 

He  was  buried  in  Organ  church  graveyard,  just  a  few  steps  from  the 


12 


History  of  Organ  Church, 


grave  of  Rev.  C.  A.  G.  Storch,  and  the  grave  is  marked  by  a  slab  exactly 
like  that  of  his  predecessor.    Upon  the  stone  is  the  following  inscription: 

"Sacred  to  the  memory  of  the  Rev.  Henry  Graeber,  who  was  born 
on  the  28th  day  of  January,  1791,  and  departed  this  life  on  the  11th  of 
September,  1843,  aged  50  years,  7  months  and  14  days. 

"The  deceased  was  born  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  Ordained  a 
pastor  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  November  5,  1821.  Re- 
moved to  Lincoln  county,  N.  C,  A.  D.  1827.  Took  charge  of  Organ 
and  St.  John's  churches  in  Rowan  and  Cabarrus  counties,  N.  C,  A.  D. 
1832,  where  he  continued  his  labors  as  a  faithful  spiritual  shepherd  up 
to  the  time  of  his  death. 

"The  Gospel  was  his  joy  and  song, 

E'en  to  his  latest  breath. 
The  truth  he  had  proclaimed  so  long 

Was  his  support  in  death. 
The  grave  is  now  his  favored  spot, 

To  sleep,  in  Jesus  blessed. 
There  the  wicked  trouble  him  not, 

There  his  weary  head  to  rest." 

Rev.  S.  Rothrock,  1>.  I). 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
born  near  Salem,  N.  C,  on  Novem- 
ber 26,  1809.  .  Early  in  life  he  had 
an  eager  appetite  for  knowledge,  for 
the  attainment  of  which  there  were 
very  few  and  very  poor  facilities  in 
nis  native  State.  He  therefore  deter- 
mined to,  and  actually  did,  make  his 
way,  alone  and  on  foot,  to  Gettys- 
burg, Pa,,  where  he  entered  Penn- 
sylvania College.  Here  he  pursued 
his  studies  until  1833  when  he  was 
licensed,  and  in  the  following  year 
ordained  by  the  North  Carolina 
Synod.  From  then  until  1844  he 
served  various  congregations  in 
Pennsylvania  and  North  Carolina, 
and  was  then  called  and  became  the 
seventh  pastor  of  Organ  church. 
For  a  term  of  twenty-two  consecutive 
years,  reaching  through  the  terrible 
remained  the  faithful,  earnest,  zealous 


Rothrock,  D.  D 

our  civil 


war, 


four  years 
pastor. 

In  I860  he  resigned  and  for  two  years  labored  in  other  fields,  and 
then  returned  to  Organ  for  a  term  of  six  months,  reaching  from  July  1, 
1808,  to  January  1,  1869.  Again  he  served  other  congregations  for 
seven  years,  and  then  nccepted  the  unanimous  call  of  Organ  to  again 
become  its  pastor.  This  time  he  served  them  for  ten  years,  reaching 
from  January  1,  1876,  to  January  1,  1886. 

At  the  altar  of  old  Organ  church  he  baptized  seven  hundred  and 
sixty-three  and  confirmed  seven  hundred  and  sixty-nine  persons. 

Dr.  F.  W.  E.  Peschau  says  of  him,  in  Jensen's  American  Lutheran 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


13 


Biographies,  uHe  has  held  many  positions  of  honor  and  trust  in  the 
church  and  always  with  credit  to  himself  and  to  the  good  of  the 
church.  He  is  a  strong,  conservative  Lutheran,  and  a  man  of  most 
lovely,  child-like  character,  and  an  ever  pleasant  companion.  He  has, 
in  his  long  life,  repeatedly  been  an  officer  of  synod,  and  enjoyed  the 
rare  honor  of  being  twice  chosen  president  of  the  General  Synod 
South." 

In  1888  the  University  of  North  Carolina  conferred  apon  him  the 
honorary  degree  of  D.  D. 

He  has  been  sixty- one  years  in  the  ministry.  On  May  3,  1883,  at 
the  eightieth  annual  convention  of  the  North  Carolina  Synod,  and  the 
fiftieth  anniversary  of  his  labors  in  the  Gospel  ministry,  forty-nine  of 
which  had  been  spent  in  work  within  the  bounds  of  North  Carolina 
*  Synod,  his  brethren,  as  an  expression  of  their  love  and  esteem  for 
him,  presented  him  with  a   gold-headed  cane. 

He  has  been  married  twice.  His  first  wife  died  very  shortly  after 
they  were  married,  but  his  second  wife  walked  the  paths  of  this  life  with 
him  for  more  than  half  a  century.  Together  they  celebrated  their  gol- 
den wedding  in  their  elegant  home  near  Gold  Hill,  North  Carolina.  But 
since,  they  have  been  parted;  she  having  gone  on  to  the  realms  of 
eternal  day. 

Notwithstanding  his  long  and  active  life  he  is  still  well  preserved  for 
a  man  of  eighty-five  years.  His  home  is  but  a  few  miles  from  Organ  church 
that  he  has  served  so  long  and  so  faithfully,  where  in  the  happy  retro- 
spect of  a  life  well  spent  and  perfect  faith  and  trust  he  is  awaiting  the 
summons  to  "come  up  higher." 

Every  one  loves  old  Father  Kothrock,  and  many  are  the  prayers  as- 
cending to  the  throne  above  that  his  last  days  upon  earth  may  be  peace 
and  happiness. 

Rev.  W.  H.  Cone. 

Rev.  W.  H.  Cone,  the  eighth  pastor  of  Organ  church,  was  born  of 
Christian  parents,  in  Union  county,  Pennsylvania,  December  11,  1831. 

When  quite  young  he  was  catechized  and  confirmed  in  the  Lutheran 
church  at  Lewisburg,  Pa.,  by  the  Rev.  Frederick  Ruthrauff.  His  education 
was  acquired  at  the  Lewisburg  Academy,  then  at  the  Lewisburg  Univer- 
sity, a  Baptist  institution,  and  then  at  Pennsylvania  College,  Gettysburg. 

Much  of  his  early  life  was  spent  in  teaching,  while  at  the  same  time 
carrying  on  his  studies.  Thus  it  was  that  while  teaching  at  Hagerstown, 
Md.,  he  began  the  study  of  theology  under  the  direction  of  Rev.  Frederick 
Anspach. 

For  two  years  he  continued  the  study  of  theology,  at  the  same  time 
acting  as  agent  for  the  Lutheran  Observer,  and  travelling  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, Maryland,  New  Jersey,  New  York  State.  During  this  time  he  was 
granted  ad  interim  license  by  the  president  of  the  Eastern  Pennsylvania 
Synod,  but  never  served  any  churches  in  that  synod. 

Afterward  he  was  called  to  and  accepted  the  financial  agency  of 
Roanoke  College,  and  in  1857  was  again  granted  ad  interim  license  by 
the  Southwes  tVirginia  Synod.  In  1858  that  synod  met  in  Salem,  Va., 
when  he  was  ordained  to  the  Gospel  ministry. 

His  first  charge  consisted  of  several  churches  in  Shenandoah  and  Page 
counties,  Va.,  which  he  continued  to  serve  until  November  1,  1864,whenhe 


14 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


took  charge  of  the  Davidson  Pastorate  of  the  North  Carolina  Synod.  He 
did  not,  however,  present  his  credentials  from  the  Southwest  Virginia 
Synod  until  the  meeting  of  the  North  Carolina  Synod  in  May,  1866.  From 
that  day  to  this  he  has  been  an  honored  member  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina Synod,  taking  an  active  part  in  all  the  work  of  the  synod,  once  elected 
its  president,  and  serving  faithfully  many  of  her  congregations. 

From  January  to  May,  1866,  a  term  of  four  months,  he  was  supply 
pastor  of  Organ  church. 

From  1869  to  1870,  a  term  of  one  year,  he  was  joint  pastor  with  Rev. 
S.  Scherer,  and  from  January  1,  1870  to  May  1, 1873,  a  term  of  three  years 
and  four  months,  he  was  pastor.  Coming  to  Organ  just  after  the  close 
of  the  civil  war  his  labors  reached  through  those  never  to  be  forgotten 
years  of  reconstruction.  His  work  was  arduous  and  much  hindered,  and 
in  consequence  of  all  the  circumstances  the  church  records  were  very 
poorly  kept,  so  that  we  cannot  tell  how  many  he  confirmed  or  baptized. 

He  was  much  beloved  by  the  people  whom  he  served.  Of  late  years 
his  health  has  been  very  poor  so  that  he  is  unable  to  do  the  work  of  the 
regular  ministry.  He  is  living  at  his  home  in  New  Market,  Ya.,  quietly 
awaiting  the  time  when  the  Master  shall  call  him  away  from  earth  up  to 
the  eternal  kingdom. 

Rev.  Wm.  Artz. 

The  ninth  pastor  of  Organ  church  was  Rev.  William  Artz.  Of  his 
early  life  and  training  we  know  but  very  little.  He  was  born  in  Mary- 
land, June  1,  1804,  and  the  writer  of  this  has  been  unable  to  learn  any- 
thing more  about  him  until  his  graduation  from  the  Theological  Semi- 
nary at  Gettysburg,  May  19,  1829,  when  he  received  a  certificate  from 
Rev.  Dr.  Schmucker,  testifying  of  "highly  respectable  standing,  both  as 
to  scholarship  and  personal  deportment,"  June  1,  of  the  same  year,  he 
received  his  license  for  one  year,  over  the  signature  of  Rev.  Benjamin 
Kurtz,  president  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Synod  of  Maryland  and 
Virginia.  When  he  was  ordained  we  do  not  know,  but  in  all  probability  it 
was  at  the  next  meeting  of  that  synod.  It  seems  that  he  at  once  came 
to  North  Carolina,  was  received  into  the  North  Carolina  Synod  about 
1829  or  1830,  and  remained  a  member  of  that  synod  during  his  entire 
ministerial  life.  He  became  pastor  of  Organ  church  in  1866,  but  the 
records  do  not  state  how  long  he  served.  He  was  twice  married  and 
was  the  father  of  eleven  children.  He  lived  to  become  a  very  old  man, 
suffering  many  bodily  infirmities,  in  consequence  of  which,  being  unable 
to  attend  synod  or  perform  any  of  the  duties  of  the  ministry,  he,  in  1872, 
asked  the  synod  to  discontinue  his  name  from  the  clerical  roll.  He 
lived  until  April  19,  1876,  and  then  went  to  his  eternal  rest.  He  was  71 
years,  10  months  and  18  days  old. 

Rev.  S.  Rothrock  preached  his  funeral  sermon  and  he  was  buried  at 
old  St,  John's,  in  Cabarrus  county,  N.  C.  A  few  years  ago  the  North 
Carolina  Synod  showed  its  respect  and  veneration  for  him  by  marking 
his  grave  with  a  neat  tablet. 

Rev.  S.  Rothrock,  president  of  the  North  Carolina  Synod,  in  his  annual 
report  for  1876,  referring  to  his  death  that  had  occurred  but  a  short  time 
before,  said,  "Rev.  W.  Artz  was  for  many  years  an  active  member  of 
synod,  was  a  profound  thinker,  and  possessed  a  high  grade  of  pulpit 
ability." 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


15 


Rev.  Simeon  Scherer. 

"Rev.  Sim  >on  Scherer  was  the  son  of  Rev.  Jacob  Scherer,  Sr.  He  was 
born  in  Guilford  county,  North  Carolina,  October  29,  1819.  He  was 
baptized  by  thj  venerable  Rev.  C.  A.  G.  Storch,  confirmed  in  childhood, 
and  early  in  life  consecrated  himself  to  God  for  the  work  of  the  ministry. 
He  studied  one  year  in  the  seminary  at  LexingtoD,  South  Carolina,  and, 
in  company  with  a  friend,  walked  from  that  place  to  Virginia,  a  dis- 
tance of  three  hundred  miles,  whither  the  family  had  moved.  After  hav- 
ing taught  school  for  some  time  to  procure  means,  he  entered  the  Vir- 
ginia Institute  (now  Roanoke  College)  in  Augusta  county,  Va.,  and 
studied  under  Rev.  Prof.  Dr.  D.  F.  Bittle.  Here  he  received  the  greater 
part  of  his  classical  education.  He  studied  theology  at  Gettysburg 
under  Rev.  Drs.  Schmucker,  Hay  and  Krauth,  Sr.  He  entered  the  min- 
istry in  1851." 

Such  is  his  record,  taken  from  American  Lutheren  Biographies, 
written  by  Dr.  Peschau. 

In  1869  he  became  the  tenth  pastor  of  Organ  church,  serving,  ac- 
cording to  the  records  in  the  church  book,  one  year  in  connection  with 
Rev.  W.  H.  Cone. 

He  died  July  11,  1876,  and  is  buried  in  the  old  graveyard  at  Frie- 
den's  church,  Guilford  county,  X.  C. 

He  has  the  unusual  honor  of  having  four  sons  in  the  Lutheran  min- 
istry, viz:  Rev.  Luther  P.  Scherer,  Radford,  Va.;  Rev.  VV.  J.  D.  Scherer, 
Fairfield,  Pa. ;  Rev.  M.  G.  G.  Scherer,  Concord,  N.  C. ;  Rev.  J.  A.  B.  Scherer, 
our  foreign  missionary  now  in  Japan. 

Rev.  W.  F.  Ketehie. 

Rev.  W.  R.  Ketehie  was  born  near 
China  Grove,  Rowan  county,  N.  C, 
on  February  13,  1839.  He  grew  up 
on  the  farm,  laboring  through  the 
summer  months  and  attending  the 
old -field  schools  when  he  could  be 
spared.  In  the  spring  of  1860  he 
entered  the  preparatory  department 
of  North  Carolina  College,  and  con- 
tinued to  pursue  his  studies  until 
September,  1861,  when,  in  response 
to  the  call  of  his  country,  he  volun- 
teered in  the  Confederate  army,  and 
served  without  intermission  until  the 
close  of  the  war. 

April  5,  1866,  he  was  united  by 
the  holy  bonds  of  matrimony  with 
Miss  Sallie  J.  Patterson.  Immedi- 
ately on  the  adjournment  of  the 
North  Carolina  Synod  m  May,  1866, 
and  in  obedience  to  a  resolution  of  synod,  the  president,  Rev.  N.  Aid- 
rich,  gave  him  a  certificate  of  ad  interim  license  "to  preach  the  gospel 
and  bury  the  dead  within  certai  n  prescribed  limits." 

At  the  meeting  of  the  s  ynod,  in  Low's  church,  Guilford  county, 


Rev.  W.  R.  Ketehie. 


m 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


N.  C,  beginning  April  30,  1868,  his  license  was  renewed,  this  time  "to 
preach  the  gospel  and  administer  the  sacraments  of  the  church."  In 
the  autumn  of  the  same  year  he  took  charge  of  two  small  congregations 
in  Davie  county,  namely,  St  Matthew's  and  Jerusalem,  (now  known  as 
Eeformation.)  These  he  served  faithfully  and  well  until  August,  1871, 
when  he  removed  to  Mount  Pleasant,  N.  C,  and  at  the  beginning  of 
the  scholastic  year  again  entered  North  Carolina  College,  studying  for 
two  years,  and  completing  the  prescribed  course  for  the  sophomore  class. 

In  1871  he  was  regularly  ordained  by  the  North  Carolina  synod,  but 
being  in  college  he  had  no  charge  until  June,  1873,  when  he  became 
the  eleventh  pastor  of  Organ  church,  serving  at  the  same  time,  St.  Steph- 
en's in  Cabarrus  county,  and  Bethel  in  Stanley.  He  was  pastor  of  Organ 
church  only  seven  months,  but  won  many  friends  in  that  time,  and  did 
much  for  the  upbuilding  of  Zion.  After  resigning  the  work  here  he 
served  several  other  congregations  up  to  the  meeting  of  the  synod  in 
1893.    Since  that  time  he  is  without  a  charge. 

He  is  now  a  man  of  fifty-five  years,  strong,  active  and  energetic,  and 
bids  fair  to  live  many  years  yet,  and  to  accomplish  still  more  in  the  path 
of  life  he  has  chosen,  and  in  which  he  has  been  so  faithful. 

Kev.  P.  A.  Strobel 

Was  the  twelfth  pastor  of  Organ  church,  and  served  it  for  one  year 
and  nine  months,  from  January  1,  1874  to  October  1,  1875. 

He  graduated  at  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Lexington,  S.  C,  in 

1836,  and   connected   himself   with   the   North    Carolina    Synod  in 

1837.  He  did  much  and  valuable  work  while  here,  and  afterwards  re- 
turned to  South  Carolina.  In  1837  he  organized  St.  Stephen's  church 
in  Cabarrus  county,  N.  C,  and  was  its  first  pastor. 

Kev.  William  Roedel  Brown. 

The  thirteenth  pastor  of  Organ 
church  was  Rev.  William  Roedel 
Brown.  He  was  born  of  Christian 
Lutheran  parents  in  Wvthe  county, 
Va.,  August  9,  1859. 

He  was  prepared  for  college  at 
Beth-Eden  Collegiate  Institute,  Win- 
ston county,  Miss.  He  graduated 
from  Roanoke  College  in  1883,  and 
from  the  Theological  Seminary  at 
Philadelphia,  Penn.,  in  1886.  On 
June  22,  1886,  he  was  ordained  by 
the  Pennsylvania  Miuisterium,  in 
Christ  Evangelical  Lutheran  church, 
Easton,  Penn.  The  following  month, 
July  1,  1886,  having  been  duly 
called,  he  entered  upon  his  duties 
as  the  thirteenth  pastor  of  Organ 
church.  For  seven  and  a  half  years, 
that  is  up  to  January  1,  1894,  he 
labored  among  the  people  of  Organ, 
each  year  becoming  dearer  and  dearer 


Rev.  William  Roedel  Brown. 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


17 


to  them.  Deeply  pious,  fully  consecrated  and  ever  faithful,  his  work 
told  from  year  to  year. 

One  hundred  and  thirty-nine  infants  and  six  adults  baptized;  one 
hundred  and  eight  confirmed,  and  thirty-six  received  by  certificate;  the 
erection  of  a  handsome  parsonage,  with  all  the  necessary  out  buildings, 
the  organization  of  a  Woman's  Home  and  Foreign  Missionary  Society; 
which  has  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  active  in  the  North  Carolina 
Synod;  the  purchase  of  a  silver  communion  set,  and  the  repairing  of  the 
old  church,  at  a  cost  of  about  one  thousand  dollars,  are  some  of  the 
tangible  evidences  of  his  faithful  services.  But  all  this  fails  to  report 
the  blessed  work  done  through  him  in  the  hearts  and  lives  of  those  to 
whom  he  ministered.    Eternity  alone  can  reveal  the  full  report. 

January  1,  1894,  he  closed  his  labors  here,  having  accepted  the  call 
from  Mount  Airy  pastorate  of  the  Southwest  Virginia  Synod. 

Rev.  George  H.  Cox,  the  Present  Pastor — Sketch   of  His   Life   by  Rev, 
F.  W.  E.  Peseliau,  D.  1). 

With  deep  and  profound  interest 
did  I  listen  to  the  story  of  how  a 
regular  out-and-out  Yankee  and  his 
out-and-out  Scotch  wife  became 
Lutherans,  as  told  to  me  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Cox  about  himself  and  wife.  It  was 
told  me  whilst  on  a  visit  with  me  in 
Wilmington,  and  I  was  so  much  im- 
pressed with  it  that  I  urged  him  to 
relate  Ihe  history  of  his  introduction 
into,  and  adherence  to  our  dear 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,  pub- 
licly to  the  members  of  St.  Paul's 
church,  which  he  did,  and  it  made  a. 
lasting  impression  on  those  who 
heard  it. 

Rev.  Mr.  Cox  was  born  in  the 
great  and  famous  Yankee  city  of 
Boston,  on  the  9th  of  August,  1838, 
and  was  reared  and  educated  in 
Boston.  He  was  the  youngest  child 
in  a  family  of  fourteen  children — 
seven  Lons  and  seven  daughters — and  he  is  the  only  boy  in  the  family 
whose  life  was  spared,  the  other  six  boys  having  died  early  in  life; 
and  so  he  grew  up  as  the  only  son  of  his  dear  parents,  Lemuel  and 
Mary  Cox,  his  mother's  maiden  name  having  been  Trask. 

When  a  young  man  he  moved  South,  settling  down  in  East  Ten- 
nessee, where  when  the  war  broke  out  he  entered  the  Southern  army, 
having  enlisted  in  Co.  H,  of  the  First  Tennessee  Cavalry.  He  served 
during  the  entire  war,  participating  in  the  battle  of  Murfreesboro,  Tenn., 
in  Bragg's  campaign  in  Kentucky,  in  Jubal  Early's  campaign  in  the 
V alley  of  Virginia,  in  the  Maryland  raid,  etc.    In  short  he  was  a  soldier, 


REV.  GEO.  H.  COX. 


IS 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


true  to  the  last  in  the  cause  he  had  espoused.  In  the  year  1866  he  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Nannie  E.  McPherson,  a  handsome  "Scotch 
lassie."  Children  being  born  to  them,  the  question  of  identifying 
themselves  with  the  Church  naturally  arose,  and  the  agreement  was 
made  that  they  would  study  the  Scriptures  and  the  books  of  doctrines 
of  the  different  denominations — and  the  one  that  would  prove  to 
be  the  closest  and  truest  to  the  Scriptures  should  be  their  Church. 
His  wife  a  Methodist,  and  he  having  been  under  Presbyterian  influences, 
read  and  studied  together  in  their  quiet  home  in  the  long  winter  eve- 
nings. Finally,  they  hear  of  the  Book  of  Concord,  secure  it,  read  it, 
compare  it  with  God's  word,  and  become  Lutherans  (for  which  God 
be  praised),  and  so  were  confirmed  by  the  venerable  and  worthy  Rev. 
Dr.  A.  J.  Brown,  of  Blountville,  Tenn.,  on  October  8,  1870.  Their  mar- 
ried life  was  blessed  with  nine  children — three  daughters  and  six  sons 
— the  oldest  of  whom  is  studying  for  the  Lutheran  ministry.  Thus  a 
whole  family  was  won  for  our  dear  Zion. 

Feeling  called  to  the  ministry,  he  studied  theology  under  Rev.  Dr. 
Brown,  and  on  September  25,  1872,  was  ordained  as  an  Evangelical  Lu- 
theran pastor  by  the  Holston  Synod,  and  has  ever  since  been  an  honor  to 
our  dear  Lutheran  Church,  and  has  done  a  blessed  work  for  her. 
We  give  the  following  condensed  summary  of  his  labors: 
He  served  the  Knox  County  charge  from  1872  up  to  the  end  of  De- 
cember, 1887,  for  a  period  of  fifteen  years.  On  January  1st,  1888,  he 
took  charge  of  the  Bethel,  St.  Stephen  and  Mt.  Olive  churches  (Stan- 
ley County)  in  North  Carolina,  where  he  labored  with  great  zeal  and  sig- 
nal success.  In  1889  the  charge  divided  and  he  served  St.  Stephen's 
and  Mt.  Olive  churches  until  January  30,  1894.  During  these  years 
he  baptized  317  children  and  40  adults;  total,  357.  He  confirmed 
194  and  added  by  letter  50;  total,  244.  He  married  57  couples  and 
buried  90  persons.  The  sum  total  of  all  members  in  the  churches  he 
had  charge  of  amounts  to  1,200,  and  over  1,000  Sunday-school  scholars 
have  been  under  his  spiritual  oversight. 

The  synods  have  recognized  the  ability  and  worth  of  our  esteemed 
brother  and  have  given  him  positions  of  honor  as  follows:  In  Hols- 
ton Synod,  Secretary  three  years,  President  two  years,  Treasurer  two 
years,  Missionary  Superintendent  five  years.  The  North  Carolina 
Synod  for  the  last  four  consecutive  years  has  chosen  him  President,  and 
he  has  been  repeatedly  Delegate  to  the  United  Synod. 

Organ  church  will  find  in  him  a  noble,  worthy,  faithful  and  active 
pastor,  sound  in  doctrine,  true  to  the  church,  zealous  in  good  works,  and 
"a  workman  that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed." 

It  seems  wonderful  that,  in  God's  Providence,  this  old  historical  church, 
German  in  origin,  in  its  early  history,  etc.,  should  be  supplied  with  a 
pastor  whose  coming  into  the  Lutheran  Church  is  so  remarkable,  and 
who,  as  child  and  youth,  had  scarcely  heard  of  our  great  church. 

We  are  proud  of  having  this  worthy  brother  in  our  church,  rejoice 
in  the  happy  victory  of  our  doctrines  over  him  and  his,  and  wish 
him  and  the  dear  people  of  Organ  church  God's  blessing  for  many 
years  to  come. 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


19 


Ancient  Relics. 

When  the  delegate  from  Organ  church,  sent  to  Germany  in  1772  in 
search  of  a  pastor,  arrived  in  the  old  fatherland,  he  found  many  who 
were  deeply  interested  in  those  Lutherans  away  over  in  the  then  wild 
Western  country,  called  by  them  "Nord  America."  Their  hearts  went 
out  to  them  in  love  and  sympathy,  which  they  demonstrated  by  many 
tokens  and  presents  sent  by  the  hands  of  the  returning  delegate^ 
pastor  and  school  teacher. 

Conspicuous  among  these  presents  was  a  baptismal  bowl,  platter, 
wine  tankard,  goblet  and  wafer  box,  constituting  the  first  vessels  of  the 
kind  ever  owned  and  used  by  the  congregation.  These  are  still  in  ex- 
istence, and  will  be  used  in  administering  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
supper  to  the  North  Carolina  Svnod  at  its  ninety-first  convention,  Mav  3, 
1894. 

The  old  wine  tankard  bears  the  date  of  1773,  and  the  wafer  box  has 
the  following  inscription  engraved  upon  its  lid:  "Der  Evang  Lutheris- 
chen  Gemeine  in  Rowan  County,  Nord  America  verhret  von  Johann 
Bohl,  in  Haag,  1772." 

These  vessels  have  been  in  possession  of  the  congregation  now  for 
one  hundred  and  twenty-two  years,  and  plainly  indicate  by  their  appear- 
ance the  long  term  of  their  service. 

For  many  years  they  were  the  only  vessels  used.  Then  they  were  set 
aside  to  be  succeeded  by  a  glass  set  which  was  used  until  the  present 
elegant  silver  set  was  purchased  during  the  administration  of  Rev.  W.  R. 
Brown. 

The  congregation  has  in  its  possession  to-day  every  communion 
vessel  and  every  baptismal  bowl  that  it  has  ever  owned. 

Amongst  these  old  relics  is  an  old  black  bottle  used  for  years  and 
years  for  holding  and  keeping  wine.  How  old  it  is  no  one  knows.  But  it 
has  been  in  the  church  just  as  far  back  as  we  can  trace  either  from  the 
memory  of  the  oldest  living  ones,  or  from  the  traditions  among  the  people. 

It  no  doubt  came  from  the  old  country,  and  possibly  was  brought 
with  the  other  vessels  in  1773. 

During  the  troubles  of  1818-19,  which  resulted  in  the  organization 
of  the  Tennessee  Synod  in  1820,  Organ  congregation  came  in  for  its 
full  share.  Party  spirit  ran  very  high  between  what  wrere  then  called 
the  "Henkelites"  and  the  "Lutherans." 

Both  parties  sought  to  hold  possession  of  the  old  church,  and  were 
not  very  scrupulous  as  to  the  measures  or  means  used. 

Upon  one  occasion  a  communion  meeting  was  in  progress  in  old  Organ 
church.  Services  were  held  on  Saturday,  and  while  progressing  one  of 
the  "Henkelites"  slipped  the  key  from  the  door  of  the  church,  hastily 
pressed  it  against  his  bear  wrist,  thereby  taking  an  impression,  from 
which  he  quickly  whittled  in  pine  bark  a  pattern;  that  night  he  made  a 
key. 

Some  time  during  the  night  "Henkelites"  gathered  at  the  church, 
expecting  with  the  key  to  open  the  door  and  take  possession  of  the  house 
and  keep  the  "Lutherans"  out.    But,  alas,  the  key  would  not  turn  in  the 


20 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


lock.  In  the  eagerness  to  force  it  they  put  a  stick  through  the  ring  of 
the  key  to  act  as  a  lever;  but  the  ring  burst  and  they  failed. 

The  next  morning  they  gathered  with  the  congregation ;  and  when  the 
communion  services  were  ended  refused  to  leave  the  house.  Thereupon 
followed  a  fierce  struggle,  which  resulted  in  the  forcible  ejection  of 
the  "Henkelites"  from  the  building.  Some  were  by  physical  strength 
forced  out  of  doors,  whilst  others  were  taken  up  bodily  and  thrown  out 
of  the  windows. 

The  old  key  is  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Luther  C.  Miller,  a  descendant 
of  those  who  took  an  active  part  in  the  struggle  of  those  days,  and  who 
will  take  pleasure  in  exhibiting  it  to  all  who  may  desire  to  look  upon  the 
old  relic. 

The  original  deed  for  the  land  upon  which  the  old  Organ  church 
building  stands  is  dated  August  16,  1786.  It  was  given  by  Mr.  Ludwig 
Sefret  "To  the  Elders  and  Trustees  and  their  successors  in  office,  for  the 
Lutheran  Congregation  belonging  to  the  Second  Creek  Organ  Meeting- 
house." 

The  deed  calls  for  "Ten  acres,  including  the  said  meeting-house,  school- 
house  and  other  buildings  thereunto  belonging,"  for  which  is  acknowl- 
edged the  receipt  of  "Five  pounds,  good  and  lawful  money  of  North 
Carolina." 

The  title  of  the  land  is  traced  back  through  the  several  parties  who 
had  owned  it,  to  David  Jones,  sheriff  of  Eowan  County,  1758. 

From  this  title  deed  we  learn  some  things  interesting  to  consider. 

First,  They  erected  the  house  before  they  had  any  right  or  title  to 
the  land  upon  which  it  stands.  Such  a  proceeding  at  the  present  day 
would  be  very  much  out  of  the  ordinary,  and  would  be  undertaken  by 
very  few.  It  shows  how  honest  and  conscientious  those  old-time  people 
were,  as  well  as  the  entire  confidence  they  had  in  each  other. 

Second.  This  deed  gives  us  an  approximate  date  for  the  old  organ; 
because  the  church  was  never  known  as  Organ  church  until  the  organ 
was  placed  in  it. 

We  can  safely  say,  therefore,  that  the  organ  was  built  more  than  one 
hundred  and  eight  years  ago,  and  that  for  that  long  period  of  time  the 
present  church  building  has  been  in  constant  use. 

From  some  of  the  remains  of  the  old  organ  the  pastor,  Rev.  Geo.  H. 
Cox,  has  had  made  a  gavel  and  block,  which  will  be  presented  to  the  North 
Carolina  Synod,  for  the  use  of  its  presiding  officer. 

The  gavel  and  block  are  made  from  a  part  of  the  old  frame  work  of 
the  organ;  the  handle  is  from  a  piece  of  the  old  finger-board,  and  these 
are  inlaid  with  the  bone  that  was  upon  the  old  keys.  These  have  been 
made  by  Mr.  Moses  Barger,  a  member  of  the  congregation,  and  a  de- 
scendant in  a  direct  line  from  Mr.  Michael  Stirewalt,  who  built  the 
organ. 

Later  History. 

The  Woman's  Home  and  Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  Organ  church 
was  organized  July  7,  1888,  with  fifteen  active  and  two  honorary  mem- 
bers. At  the  end  of  the  first  year  there  were  eighteen  active  and  six 
honorary  members,  and  the  amount  contributed  was  $36.18. 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


21 


At  the  end  of  the  second  year  there  were  twenty- five  active  and 
seven  honorary  members,  with  143.34  contributed. 

The  third  year  showed  twenty-two  active  and  seven  honorary  mem- 
bers, $56.32  contributed. 

The  fourth  year  twenty-three  active  and  eleven  honorary  members, 
with  $50.44  contributed. 

The  fifth  year,  twenty- two  active  and  ten  -  honorary  and  three  life 
members,  with  $54.01  contributed. 

At  present  there  are  twenty-one  active,  seven  honorary  and  three  life 
members,  and  $27.93  have  been  contributed. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  during  the  five  years  and  nine  months  of 
the  life  of  the  society  there  has  been  contributed  the  handsome  sum  of 
$268.18.  The  society  meets  regularly  once  a  month,  and  holds  at 
least  one  public  meeting  during  the  year.  The  life  members  are  Rev.  S. 
Rothrock,  D.  D.,  Rev.  W.  R.  Brown,  the  former  pastor,  and  Rev.  J.  A.  B. 
Scherer,  our  foreign  missionary  in  Japan.  The  present  officers  are: 
President,  Miss  Ellen  Holshouser;  vice-president,  Mrs.  Ellen  M.  Bost: 
recording  secretary,  Miss  Katie  Beaver;  corresponding  secretary,  Miss 
Mary  Lee  Miller;  treasurer,  Miss  Joan  Smith. 

"Ebenezer,"  a  young,  flourishing  congregation,  five  miles  from  the 
mother  church,  is  the  youngest  daughter.  This,  with  the  mother 
church,  constitutes  the  present  pastorate.  "Christiana,"  a  strong, 
working  congregation,  about  six  miles  away,  is  another  child. 
"Bethel,"  four  miles  from  Salisbury,  "Salem,"  seven  miles,  and  "St. 
Paul,"  five  miles  from  the  same  place,  and  "St.  Paul,"  in  Iredell 
County,  N.  C,  are  all  children  of  the  same  mother.  "Lebanon,"  recently 
organized  by  Rev.  B.  W.  Cronk,  is  a  grandchild  of  Organ.  Many  other 
congregations  in  North  Carolina  came  in  part  from  Organ  church, 
and  all  the  congregations  in  Illinois  established  by  the  Harkeys  can  trace 
their  origin  back  to  the  old  hive,  and  are  grand  and  great-grand- 
daughters of  old  Organ. 

But  few  ministers  have  come  directly  out  of  Organ  church,  but  her 
children  have  borne  much  and  precious  fruit.  The  Storks,  Rev.  The- 
opilus  and  Chas.  A.;  Rev.  J.  S.  TIeilig,  Rev.  Sifferd,  RcV.  R.  L.  Brown, 
Rev.  H.  M.  Brown,  Rev.  R.  L.  Bame,  Rev.  C.  B.  Miller,  Rev.  C.  A.  Brown, 
Revs.  C.  L.  T.  and  J.  H.  C.  Fisher,  the  Revs.  Harkey,  two  Revs.  Lentz, 
Rev.  Wiley  David  and  Rev.  Smithdeal  can  all  trace  their  lineage  back 
to  Organ  through  the  congregations  from  which  they  directly  come. 

Truly  Organ  church  can  and  will  be  proud  of  her  progeny. 

Organists:  Miss  Daisy  Kluttz  and  Miss  Mattie  Holshouser. 

Leader:  Mr.  Wm.  Fesperman. 

Choristers:  Mary  Holshouser,  Mary  L.  Miller,  Abby  C.  Cox,  Alice 
E.  Kluttz,  Effie  Kluttz,  Katie  Beaver,  Endora  Bost,  Nettie  Barger,  Eliza- 
beth Fesperman,  Cora  Bost,  Joan  Smith,  Ellen  Holshouser,  Ellen 
Smith,  Laura  Harris,  Jennie  Fesperman,  C.  B.  Cox,  Dr.  Moore, 
Adolph.  Holshouser,  Milo  Kluttz,  James  Bost,  G.  O.  Kluttz,  A.  Kluttz, 
L.  Fesperman,  D.  Barger,  H.  Barger,  W.  Josey,  E.  W.  Cox,  Jno.  Miller, 
Geo.  Brown. 


22 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


THE  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 


Sunday,  May  G,  1894. 

The  exercises  of  the  celebration  of  the  Centennial  were  held  in  the 
beautiful  grove  surrounding  the  church.  A  stand  had  been  erected  under 
one  of  the  large  oaks,  and  seats  arranged  in  front.  The  church  was 
totally  inadequate  to  accommodate  the  large  concourse  of  people  assem- 
bled on  this  occasion.  The  crowd  was  variously  estimated  from  3,000 
to  5,000,  but  a  safe  estimate  of  the  number  present  would  be  4,000. 

The  morning  was  devoted  to  the  historical  address  by  Dr.  Bernheim. 
The  exercises  were  conducted  by  Rev.  Father  Rothrock,  D.  D.,  himself 
for  several  years  pastor  of  the  congregation.  He  had  not  been  well  and 
was  rather  feeble  but  could  not  forego  the  pleasure  of  being  present  on 
this  joyous  occasion.  His  voice  was  clear  and  distinct.  The  old  familiar 
hymn,  "All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus  name,"  was  sung  with  power  and  ex- 
pression by  the  congregation. 

Rev.  C.  A.  Rose  asked  those  present  to  observe  order,  and  stated  that 
one  year  ago  a  committee  had  been  appointed  to  arrange  a  programme 
for  this  Centennial.  The  committee  had  discharged  the  duty  assigned 
and  the  programme  will  now  be  carried  out.  The  meeting  was  then 
turned  over  to  Dr.  Rothrock. 

He  said:  "Dearly  beloved:  Let  us  collect  our  thoughts  and  command 
our  minds  and  proceed  to  carry  out  the  programme  as  prepared  for  this 
occasion."    He  then  read  the  hymn  mentioned  above  and  said:    "Let  the. 
services  now  proceed."    The  hymn  was  sung. 

Dr.  Rothrock:  "The  next  thing  in  order  according  to  the  programme 
will  be  the  reading  of  the  46th  Psalm  by  Rev.  W.  R.  Ketchie  for  our 
edification  and  instruction.  Brother  Ketchie  will  now  proceed  to  read." 
The  Scripture  lesson  was  then  read. 

Dr.  Rothrock:  "The  next  thing  in  order,  according  to  the  programme, 
after  the  reading  of  the  Scripture  lesson  is  prayer,  and  we  will  now  be  led 
in  prayer  by  Rev.  M.  G.  G.  Scherer."  Rev.  Rr  Scherer  then  offered  the 
following  prayer: 

Lord,  thou  hast  been  our  dwelling  place  in  all  generations.  Before  the  moun- 
tains were  brought  forth,  or  ever  thou  hadst  formed  the  earth  and  the  world, 
even  from  everlasting  to  everlasting  thou  art  God. 

Thou  wast  the  God  of  our  fathers,  and  we  rejoice  that  we  can  look  up  unto  thee 
and  call  thee  our  God.  We  praise  thee  that  thou  hast  established  thy  Church  in 
the  world,  and  that  from  the  beginning,  and  in  all  the  trials  and  vicissitudes 
through  which  she  has  passed  thou  hast  been  with  her  and  sustained  her. 

We  thank  thee  that  thou  hast  permitted  us  to  assemble  on  this  occasion,  the 
one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  building  of  old  Organ  Church.  We  thank 
thee  for  the  great  good  that  has  grown  out  of  the  establishment  of  this  Church, 
not  only  to  this  community,  but  to  all  the  surrounding  country.  We  praise  thee 
for  the  faith,  the  devotion,  and  the  heroism  of  our  forefathers  in  the  work  accom- 
plished here,  for  their  steadfastness  in  time  of  trial,  and  for  the  grand  results  with 
which  thou  hast  rewarded  their  labors. 

And  as  we  come  now  to  engage  in  this  festive  service,  we  humbly  beseech 
thee  to  be  with  us,  and  we  pray  thee,  O  Lord,  to  bless  these  exercises  to  the  good 
of  this  assembled  multitude. 

And  we  would  ask  thine  especial  blessing  upon  the  future  of  this  Church  and 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


23 


congregation.  May  they  be  the  imitators  of  their  ancestors  in  faith  and  in 
all  good  works.  May  the  noble  example  which  has  been  set  before  them  be  to 
them  a  mighty  inspiration  and  encouragement  to  press  onward  in  the  good  work 
to  which  thou  hast  called  them. 

Do  thou,  O  God,  behold  with  thy  favor  and  bless  this  people  and  their  pastor 
whom  thou  hast  given  them.  Bind  them  together  in  faith  and  love  and  zeal,  and 
may  they  go  forward,  heart  to  heart,  and  hand  to  hand,  in  the  great  work  of 
reclaiming  souls  from  the  power  of  sin  and  Satan,  and  do  thou  give  great  success 
to  their  united  labors. 

Be  with  us  now,  O  Lord,  and  bless  us  in  the  services  of  this  hour.  Pardon  all 
our  sins,  and  save  us  with  all  thy  people.  We  ask  it  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ, 
our  Lord.  Amen. 

Dr.  Rothrock:  "In  further  carrying  out  the  programme  we  will  now 
unite  in  singing  the  128th  hymn,  'Glorious  things  of  thee  are  spoken.' 
Let  the  exercises  proceed."  The  hymn  was  sung  by  the  choir  and  the 
congregation. 

Dr.  Rothrock:  "The  next  thing  in  order  according  to  the  programme 
for  this  occasion  is  the  address.  We  will  now  be  addressed  by  Dr.  Bern- 
heim.    He  will  give  us  an  interesting  address." 

Address  of  Rev.  G.  D.  Bernheim,  D.  I). 

The  first  glimpse  into  the  history  of  Organ  Church  must  be  directed  at 
its  colonial  origin,  at  the  character  of  its  early  settlers,  and  what  induced 
them  to  locate  in  this  part  of  the  country. 

We  all  know  that  your  forefathers  originally  came  from  Germany, 
from  a  country  which  was  at  that  time  known  as  the  Palatinate,  (in 
German  it  is  called  Die  Pfalz)  it  was  located  in  the  southern  part  of 
Germamy,  eastward  from  the  River  Rhine,  and  its  capital  city  was 
Heidelberg  on  the  Necker  river,  a  few  miles  above  where  it  empties  itself 
into  the  Rhine. 

The  Palatinate  is  now  no  more,  like  Poland  it  was  partitioned  out  to 
the  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden  and  the  Kingdom  of  Bavaria.  They  know 
how  to  do  such  things  in  Europe,  after  every  war  new  countries  are 
made,  others  are  enlarged,  and  feeble  ones  blotted  out  of  political 
existence.  So  likewise  within  the  last  twenty-five  years  the  Kingdom  of 
Hannover  has  been  exterminated,  it  now  belongs  to  Prussia.  That  is 
the  way  those  changes  occur. 

Your  German  forefathers  did  not  come  directly  from  Germany  to 
North  Carolina.  It  is  true,  some  of  those  Palatines,  doubtless  blood 
relatives  of  yours,  did  settle  in  New  Bern,  N.  C,  in  the  year  1710, 
brought  over  by  their  leaders,  De  Graffenried  and  Michel,  with  some  Swiss 
settlers  who  were  their  neighbors  in  the  fatherland.  But  your  immediate 
ancestors  were  located  first  in  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania,  hence  they 
were  called  Pennsylvania  Germans;  this  their  peculiar  dialect  informs  us, 
which  is  still  spoken  by  a  few  of  the  older  citizens  in  this  neighborhood; 
your  family  names  are  identically  the  same  as  some  of  those  still  pre- 
vailing in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  especially  in  Northampton  and  Lehigh 
Counties,  where  you  will  find  Edelmans,  Biebers,  Bergers,  Barringers, 
Heiligs,  Fishers,  Misenhimers,  Krauses,  Steigerwalds,  Kohlmans,  Klutzs, 
Kruses,  Millers,  Melchors,  Rothrocks.  Seitzs,  Panluss,  Bastians,  Basts, 
Kleins  and  others  in  great  abundance. 

So  are  their  manners,  customs  and  habits,  the  same  in  both  localities. 


24 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


In  short,  the  Pennsylvania  Germans  are  easily  recognized  wherever  you 
meet  them,  whether  they  are  located  in  the  North  or  South,  in  the  East 
or  the  far  West. 

But  what  originally  caused  them  to  leave  their  German  fatherland  and 
come  to  America?  The  answer  to  that  question  is  a  most  interesting 
narrative,  fully  as  much  so  as  the  history  of  the  Puritans  who  landed  at 
Plymouth  Rock  in  Massachusetts  in  the  year  1620,  or  the  history  of  the 
Salzburgers  who  settled  Ebenezer,  Georgia,  m  1734. 

Refugees  they  all  were,  not  so  much  political  as  religious  refugees, 
who  fled  from  Europe  to  escape  religious  persecution,  they  came  to  the 
wilds  of  America  that  they  might  worship  and  serve  the  Lord  according 
to  the  dictates  of  their  own  consciences.  Your  German  ancestry  had 
France  as  their  political  opponent,  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  as  their 
religious  enemy,  and  Louis  XIV,  King  of  France,  the  embodiment  of 
both,  who,  after  having  robbed  them  of  every  worldly  possession,  drove 
them  from  their  comfortable  homes  in  Germany  with  fire  and  sword  in 
the  middle  of  winter,  down  the  Rhine  to  Holland,  where  Queen  Anne,  of 
England,  invited  them  to  her  hospitable  shores,  lodged  them  in  tents  on 
the  Black  heaths  near  London,  gave  them  food  and  clothing,  and  after- 
wards provided  them  homes  in  her  American  colonies.  That  is  the  way 
the  most  of  your  German  forefathers  happened  to  come  to  this  country. 

It  would  take  too  much  of  our  time  to  recount  fully  all  their  sufferings,  or 
to  give  you  a  history  of  that  iniquitous  war  of  the  Spanish  Succession, 
which  was  the  immediate  cause  of  this  wholesale  German  emigration  to 
America,  this  you  can  gather  from  the  history  of  Europe  of  that  particu- 
lar time.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  that  war  was  waged  by  Louis  XIV,  King 
of  France  in  the  interest  of  his  grandson,  whom  the  King  was  deter- 
mined to  place  on  the  vacant  throne  of  Spain  in  face  of  the  opposition  of 
the  greater  part  of  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe. 

The  Germans  of  the  Palatinate  were  the  chief  sufferers  of  that  war,  as 
their  country  lay  next  to  France  along  the  Rhine.  "Many  of  them  died 
of  cold  and  hunger;"  says  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thornwell,  "but  enough  survived 
to  fill  the  streets  of  all  the  cities  of  Europe  with  lean  and  squalid 
beggars,  who  had  once  been  thriving  farmers  and  shopkeepers." 

But  what  a  pious,  industrious  and  sturdy  class  of  people  they  proved 
themselves  to  be;  they  soon  made  themselves  comfortable  homes  in  this 
country,  were  satisfied  with  their  surroundings,  raised  up  a  hardy  set  of 
children,  and  became  the  bone  and  sinew  of  our  American  colonies. 

Their  religious  faith  was  Lutheran  and  Reformed,  and  their  piety, 
honesty,  sobriety,  industry  and  economical  habits  were  the  source  of 
constant  praise  among  their  English  neighbors. 

In  process  of  time,  say  some  thirty-five  or  forty  years,  after  the  original 
German  settlers  from  the  Palatinate  had  died,  many  of  their  children,  in 
search  of  farms  and  homes  for  themselves,  for  land  was  becoming  scarce 
in  Pennsylvania,  migrated  in  wagons  down  the  Cumberland  valley  of 
Pennsylvania,  through  the  Shanandoah  valley  of  Virginia,  across  the 
Blue  Ridge  mountains  into  the  unoccupied  lands  of  North  Carolina.  This 
part  of  our  State,  now  called  the  Piedmont  section,  was  then  a  wilderness. 
As  late  as  1753  the  Moravian  Bishop  Spangenberg  surveyed  the  Wachovia 


History  of  Organ  ChurcTi. 


25 


tract  of  100,000  acres  in  Forsyth  County  for  a  settlement  of  his  Moravian 
brethren.  All  that  land  is  described  in  Spangenberg's  report  as  a 
wilderness,  and  had  been  but  recently  vacated  by  the  Indians.  An 
account  of  this  survey  is  given  in  the  Life  of  Spangenberg,  a  copy  of 
which  I  have  in  rny  library.  Our  German  settlements  in  Rowan  and 
adjoining  counties  must  have  been  made  before  that  time,  as  this 
surveying  party,  in  an  almost  starving  condition,  met  certain  white 
settlers  near  the  Yadkin  river,  who  treated  them  kindly,  and  where  they 
stayed  several  days  refreshing  themselves,  and  then  were  guided  by  one 
of  the  colonists  to  the  unsettled  lands  along  the  Wachovia  creek,  where 
the  town  of  Salem  now  stands. 

From  this  we  naturally  infer  that  the  settlements  East  and  West  of 
the  Yadkin  river  were  made  a  few  years  earlier,  say  from  1745  to  1750. 

On  the  Western  side  of  the  Catawba  river,  where  the  Spangenberg 
surveying  party  first  attempted  to  locate  their  grant  of  land,  purchased 
from  Lord  Granville,  they  found  it  to  be  an  impenetrable  wilderness, 
"with  nothing  but  buffalo  paths  as  roads,"  so  the  Bishop's  diary  reads,  "and 
camped  at  a  place,  on  the  29th  of  November,  1752,  where  perhaps  since 
the  wurld  stands  no  human  being  had  ever  been."  Consequently  they 
were  compelled  to  abandon  this  spot  at  first  selected,  after  having  endured 
much  suffering  from  want  of  proper  food,  and  located  their  lands  farther 
towards  the  East. 

As  in  Pennsylvania  so  in  North  Carolina  settlers  from  other  parts  of 
Germany  located  themselves  among  and  near  the  original  Pali  tine 
colonists  and  their  descendants,  and  added  materially  to  the  strength  oi 
the  German  settlements  in  this  State,  so  that  in  1771,  as  we  learn  from  a 
certain  document,  which  shall  be  noticed  later  on,  "nearly  3,000  German 
Protestant  families  were  located  in  the  counties  of  IZowan,  Orange, 
Mecklenberg  and  Try  on  in  the  Province  of  North  Carolina."  Of  course 
this  included  also  the  Moravians  and  German  Reformed. 

For  about  twenty-five  years  were  the  German  settlers  of  North  Carolina 
without  the  ordinary  means  of  grace,  this  spiritual  condition  was  truly 
deplorable,  as  may  readily  be  imagined,  when  as  yet  no  churches  were 
erected,  the  gospel  not  preached,  no  sacraments  administered,  and  the 
young  people  left  to  grow  np  in  comparative  ignorance.  A  lamentable 
want  of  spiritual  knowledge  and  its  consequent  laxity  of  morals  seemed 
to  prevail  in  most  localities. 

Appeals  to  the  Lutheran  ministry  in  Pennsylvania  for  ministers  of  the 
gospel  were  repeatedly  made,  but  alas!  that  province  was  itself  sorely  in 
want  of  preachers  of  the  same  faith  with  their  descendants  in  North 
Carolina,  and  had  to  look  to  the  fatherland  for  a  supply  to  help  them 
out  of  their  own  destitute  condition. 

Something  had  to  be  done,  the  great  spiritual  need  of  those  days  had 
to  be  supplied,  things  could  not  go  on  longer  in  this  way.  The  people 
commenced  to  erect  churches,  thus  in  1768  the  Salisbury  Lutheran 
Church  was  first  erected,  the  settlers  on  Second  creek  in  Rowan  County 
built  a  church  of  hickory  logs  on  Mr.  Fullenwider's  farm  near  his  mill 
on  the  afore-mentioned  creek,  where  St.  Peter's  Church  now  stands, 
which  was  used  jointly  by  the  Lutherans,  and  the  Reformed;  another 


26 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


church  for  the  use  of  both  these  denominations  was  built  on  the  South 
side  of  Dutch  Buffalo  creek,  near  Sassaman's  mill,  as  it  was  then  known. 
These  churches  were  very  plain  and  humble  structures. 

But  how  and  where  to  obtain  preachers  ?  That  was  the  next  important 
question.  There  was  no  other  way  but  to  send  to  Germany  for  them. 
Accordingly  the  German  Lutheran  population  of  the  two  counties, 
Rowan  and  Cabarrus,  (then  Mecklenburg)  sent  a  delegation  of  two 
gentlemen,  Christopher  Bintelmann  and  Christopher  Layrle,  to  Europe 
in  the  year  1771,  (says  Graebner's  Lutheran  Church  in  America,  my 
original  documents  fix  the  date  a  year  later)  for  the  threefold  purpose  of 
procuring  a  regular  pastor,  a  well  qualified  school  teacher,  and  the 
necessary  means  to  support  them. 

Their  deputies  were  instructed  to  apply  to  the  Consistory  of  Hannover 
in  Germany  in  preference  to  any  other,  '"because  at  that  time  North 
Carolina,  as  well  as  the  other  free  American  States,  was  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  King  of  England,  who  was  at  the  same  time  Elector 
of  Hannover."  They  were,  of  course,  supplied  with  all  the  necessary 
credentials,  one  of  which  was  from  Governor  Tryon,  with  the  great  seal 
of  the  province  of  North  Carolina  attached  to  it,  a  memorial  accompa- 
nying it  reads  as  follows: 

"Inasmuch  as  in  the  Counties  of  Bowan,  Orange,  Mechlenburg  and 
Tryon,  situated  in  the  Province  of  North  Carolina  in  America,  there  are 
at  present  nearly  three  thousand  German  Protestant  families,  who  are 
rapidly  on  the  increase  owing  to  their  great  fertility  and  a  healthful 
climate,  besides  receiving  nearly  every  week  large  additions  from  the 
German  Protestants  of  Pennsylvania  and  other  American  colonies;  and 
inasmuch  as  they  have  been  thus  far  without  the  means  of  grace,  and  are 
not  able  to  support  a  learned  and  right-believing  preacher  of  their 
language  and  their  faith,  which  has  been  the  prevailing  cause  of  great 
ignorance  in  God's  word  and  of  a  lamentable  unrestrained  life,  which  is 
constantly  on  the  increase;  and  in  order  that  this  unhappy  condition  of 
things  be  changed,  which  might  bring  down  upon  us  the  wrath  and 
punishment  of  Almighty  God,  the  sixty  or  more  German  Lutheran 
Protestant  families  have  unitedly  and  humbly  petitioned  His  Excellency, 
Governor  Tryon,  the  present  Governor  of  the  said  Province,  that  he, 
under  the  great  seal  of  the  Province  would  graciously  authorize  the 
sending  of  the  two  deputies  out  of  their  number,  namely:  Christopher 
Layrle  and  Christopher  Bintelmann,  who  are  humbly  to  ask  the 
Protestant  brethren  and  other  friends  of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  in  England, 
Holland  and  Germany  for  their  benevolence  and  charity,  in  order  that 
they  might  be  enabled  to  secure  a  learned  and  orthodox  Protestant 
minister,  so  that  the  ordinary  means  of  grace  may  be  administered  among 
them,  and  the  Kingdom  of  our  blessed  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  thereby 
established  and  extended  in  their  midst." 

Governor  Tryon  complied  with  the  request  of  the  German  Lutherans 
and  wrote  a  warm  letter  of  recommendation  for  the  deputies,  Layrle  and 
Bintelmann,  to  the  "Society  for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  in  foreign 
parts,"  which  had  its  seat  in  London,  and  also  a  letter  to  the  Bishop  of 
London. 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


27 


Being  thus  well  equipped  these  deputies  proceeded  on  their  journey, 
and  were  most  cordially  received  in  England;  the  English  Mission  Society 
above  mentioned  espoused  their  cause.  The  King  himself  subscribed 
$300  for  Hannover  and  $100  for  Osnabruck;  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury gave  £5,  5s,  Gov.  Try  on  the  same  amount,  Miss  Tryon  £2,  2s.,  the 
Bishop  of  London  £6,  6s.,  the  Earle  of  Dartmouth  £5,  5s.,  Earl  Granville 
the  same  amount,  others  subscribed  less.  A  collection  lifted  m  St.  James 
German  Lutheran  Chapel  in  London  amounted  to  £54,  18s,  9Jd.,  $812.50. 

On  the  continent  these  American  commissioners  met  with  the  same 
friendly  reception  and  success,  everywhere  they  found  attentive  listeners, 
willing  hearts  and  open  hands.  In  Germany,  besides  the  contributions 
in  money  that  were  handed  in,  there  were  also  collected  for  them 
quantities  of  bibles,  hymn  books,  catechisms  and  other  books. 

Their  petition  for  a  preacher  and  school  teacher  they  submitted,  as 
before  determined,  to  the  Consistory  of  Hannover,  and  in  this  also  their 
labor  was  not  in  vain;  through  the  kind  efforts  of  the  late  Consistory 
Counsellor,  Gotten,  they  obtained  the  Kev.  Adolphus  Nussmann  as  their 
pastor,  and  Mr.  John  Godfrey  Arends  as  school  teacher,  both  of  whom 
arrived  safely  in  their  future  field  of  labor  here  in  the  year  1773. 

It  was  also  made  the  duty  of  the  University  of  Gottingen  in  Hannover 
to  serve  the  brethren  in  North  Carolina  in  future  with  additional  laborers 
in  the  Ministry.  What  a  blessed  work  these  two  laymen  accomplished 
with  the  favor  of  God  for  our  Lutheran  Church  in  the  Province  of  North 
Carolina!  And  what  glowing  accounts  they  could  give  on  their  return 
home  of  the  favorable  reception  they  met  with  in  England  and  Germany! 

But  who  was  Nussmann?  Ah!  the  answer  to  that  question  likewise 
forms  an  interesting  page  in  the  history  of  our  Lutheran  Church  in 
North  Carolina.  He,  the  first  Lutheran  minister  of  this  Province,  as  our 
State  was  then  called,  was  like  Luther,  a  converted  Roman  Catholic 
monk  of  the  Franciscan  order,  who  had  been  brought  to  reflection  by 
reading  the  philosophy  of  Wolf,  Professor  of  the  University  of  Halle,  etc. 
True,  Wolf's  Philosophy  was  rationalistic,  but  in  the  province  of  God  it 
eventually  led  Nussmann  into  the  ministry  of  the  Lutheran  Church;  he 
studied  further,  or  completed  his  theological  course  in  the  Georgia 
Augusta  department  of  the  University  of  Goettingen,  and  at  the  age  of 
thirty-three  years  he  accepted  the  call  extended  to  him  by  the  Consistory 
of  Hannover  from  the  Lutheran  Churches  of  North  Carolina. 

These  interesting  facts  are  obtained  from  Rev.  Dr.  Mann's  notes  to  the 
Halle  Reports,  new  edition,  page  32;  and  Graebner's  History  of  the 
Lutheran  Church  in  America,  pages  585,  588,  both  of  which  have  been 
published  in  the  German  language  within  the  last  eight  years;  and  these 
authors  gathered  those  facts  from  a  Latin  work,  entitled  "Ecclesiastico 
Historical  Acts  of  Our  Times,  Volume  XII,  page  213  and  following. 

The  school  teacher  who  accompanied  Nussmann  to  America  was  John 
Godfrey  Arends,  a  thoroughly  educated  man  for  his  vocation,  a  graduate 
of  the  Teacher's  Seminary  of  the  city  of  Hannover,  whose  certificate  as 
teacher  I  have  had  in  my  hands,  given  in  Hannover,  Germany,  and 
■dated  October  16th,  1772,  attesting  that  he  was  regularly  appointed  a 
school  teacher  for  North  Carolina. 


2S 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


Rev.  Nussman  and  Mr.  Arends  travelled  together  to  the  city  of  London 
on  their  way  to  America,  they  remained  a  short  while  in  London,  where 
Nussmann  preached  in  the  German  Lutheran  Court  Chapel,  St.  James, 
with  great  acceptance  and  gained  many  friends. 

Upon  their  arrival  in  North  Carolina,  Pastor  Nussmann  made  his 
home  in  the  vicinity  of  Second  creek,  and  preached  at  first  in  the 
Hickory  Church  to  Lutherans  and  Reformed;  but  it  was  not  long  before 
some  dissension  arose,  when  the  Lutherans  withdrew  and  resolved  to 
build  a  church  for  themselves,  and  thus  originated  the  so-called  Organ 
Church,  w7hose  proper  or  real  name,  however,  is  Zion's  Church,  the  fact 
that  an  organ  was  afterwards  placed  in  the  Church  edifice,  built  by  one 
of  their  own  members,  a  Mr.  Steigerwald,  gave  it  the  name  ''Organ 
Church,"  by  which  it  was  ever  afterwards  known.  But  before  the  new 
stone  Church  was  completed  Pastor  Nussmann  resigned  and  removed  to 
Dutch  Buffalo  Creek  Church  in  Mecklenburg  County,  better  known  at 
this  time  as  St.  John's  Church,  Cabarrus  County,  where  Nussmann  had 
been  preaching  a  part  of  his  time,  as  well  as  in  the  town  of  Salisbury, 
which  three  congregations  at  first  constituted  his  pastoral  charge.  From 
a  letter,  dated  May  4tb,  1784,  which  Rev.  Nussmann  wrote  to  one  of  his 
friends  in  Germany,  there  appears  to  have  been  some  misunderstanding 
between  him  and  the  teacher  Arends,  which  was  the  cause  of  Nussmann's 
removal  from  Organ  to  St.  John's  Church  which  difficulty,  however,  was 
afterwards  amicably  settled  between  them,  as  it  is  stated  that  they  were 
on  the  most  friendly  terms  at  the  time  Arends  had  removed  to  the  other 
side  of  the  Catawba  river. 

Zion's  congregation  being  now  without  a  pastor,  and  having  no  other 
way  of  hearing  the  word  preached  to  them,  this  school  teacher,  Mr. 
Arends,  conducted  divine  service  as  a  lay  reader,  until  a  certain  Rev. 
eloachim  Beulow,  from  the  Saluda  river  in  South  Carolina,  and  pastor  of 
St.  Paul's  Lutheran  Church,  Newberry  County,  happened  to  pass  that 
way,  and  ordained  Mr.  Arends  to  the  office  of  the  ministry;  a  copy  from  his  or- 
dination certificate  reads  as  follows:  "Second  Creek,  Rowan  County,  North 
Carolina,  August  22nd,  Anno  Christi,  1775,  being  the  eleventh  Sunday 
after  Trinity.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Johann  Gottfried  Arends  has  been  examined 
by  me,  the  inspector  over  South  and  North  Carolina,  in  the  presence  of 
several  deacons,  and  thereupon  ordained  before  the  whole  congregation  at 
their  request. 

"The  above  mentioned  Johann  Gottfried  Arends  is  now  from  this  date 
a  regular  Evangelical  Lutheran  pastor  and  minister.  We  recommend 
him  therefore  to  the  kind  reception  of  all  Christians  at  the  North,  and 
heartily  wish  that  he  may,  as  a  friend  of  the  bridegroom,  bring  many 
souls  to  the  marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb,  and  wait  faithfully  upon  his 
office;  also  with  exemplary  life  and  pure  doctrine  bring  all  the  straying 
and  deceived  back  to  the  fold. 

"This  witnesseth  out  of  love  for  the  truth  and  its  undoubted  attesta- 
tion." "Joachim  Beulow." 

"Missionary  and  Inspector  over  South  and  North  Carolina." 

Who  appointed  the  Rev.  Joachim  Beulow  Inspector  over  South  and 
North  Carolina  no  records  that  have  come  to  my  hands  do  show. 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


29 


Dr.  Mann  says,  that  he  was  at  one  time  a  clerk  in  a  store,  and  after- 
wards busied  himself  with  preaching,  which  corresponds  with  a  letter  I 
received  from  an  intelligent  layman  in  South  Carolina,  saying:  "He  was 
pastor  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  and  removed  to  Charleston,  and  was  engaged 
in  trade." 

Rev.  Arends,  who  became  the  second  pastor  of  this  congregation,  served 
the  Church  during  the  dark  period  of  the  Revolutionary  war  until  the 
year  1784,  when  in  April  of  that  same  year  he  accepted  a  call  to  some 
congregations  in  Lincoln  County  (then  called  Tryon)  where  he  labored 
faithfully  until  he  lost  his  sight,  and  at  his  death  his  remains  were  in- 
terred in  the  Lutheran  cemetery  in  the  town  of  Lincolnton. 

For  several  years  Rev.  Nussmann  again  served  this  people  in  connec- 
tion with  St.  John's  congregation,  after  which  he  left  Organ  Church  the 
second  time,  and  devoted  his  whole  time  and  attention  to  his  other  con- 
gregation, and  doing  some  missionary  work  as  frequently  as  possible 
among  the  scattered  Lutherans  in  Davidson,  Guilford,  Orange,  Stokes 
and  Forsythe  Counties. 

The  smoke  of  the  Revolutionary  war  had  cleared  away,  and  what  a 
fearful  desolation  in  religion  and  morals  were  then  made  apparent,  the 
refugees  that  returned  to  their  homes  brought  a  spirit  along  with  them 
to  which  nothing  in  heaven  and  on  earth  was  regarded  as  sacred. 

If  the  spiritual  condition  of  the  German  colonists  of  North  Carolina 
before  Nussmann's  arrival  was  indeed  deplorable,  it  was  infinitely  more 
so  after  the  Revolutionary  war.  Many  of  the  smaller  congregations  had 
ceased  to  exist,  the  larger  ones  were  very  much  weakened,  the  Second 
Creek  congregation,  and  especially  the  Salisbury  Church  had  become 
much  reduced  in  strength,  and  both  were  vacant  for  some  time  after  the 
war.  What  was  now  to  be  done  to  bring  about  a  better  state  of  things  ? 
Only  two  Lutheran  pastors  in  all  North  Carolina,  and  they  had  their 
hands  full.  They  could  do  but  little  towards  meeting  the  great  destitu- 
tion and  urgent  need  of  the  people. 

Pastor  Nussmann  feeling  deeply  grieved  at  this  condition  of 
ecclesiastical  affairs,  once  more  opened  correspondence  with  his  friends  in 
Europe  which  the  war  had  interrupted  for  nearly  ten  years,  entreating 
them  for  the  love  of  God  and  immortal  souls  to  send  our  people,  who 
were  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd,  more  men  to  labor  as  pastors  in  the 
numerous  congregations.  He  applied  first  to  the  mission  authorities  in  Lon- 
don for  the  £90  sterling  that  were  left  remaining  before  the  Revolution 
to  the  credit  of  the  North  Carolina  Lutheran  Churches,  also  to  the  Con- 
sistory of  Hannover  and  the  University  of  Goettingen  for  additional 
laborers;  but  alas!  no  attention  was  paid  to  his  entreaties,  the  colonies  of 
America  had  revolted  from  the  parent  government,  had  achieved  their 
independence,  and  had  forfeited  the  good  will  of  their  former  English 
and  Hannoverian  friends,  King  George  III  ruled,  as  you  know,  over  both 
these  countries.  Rev.  Nussmann  then  wrote  to  Rev.  Dr.  John  Carper 
Velthusen,  formerly  pastor  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  London,  who  was 
then  Professor  of  the  Julia  Carolina  University  of  Helmstaedt;  stating 
that  "the  condition  of  the  population  is  such,  that  if  preachers  and  school 
teachers  are  not  soon  sent,  the  people  would  degenerate  into  heathenism. 


30  History  of  Organ  Church. 


Thousands  of  families  rich  in  children,  but  living  far  apart,  forget  their 
Christianity,  their  children  know  still  less  of  religion,  and  children's 
children  are  veritable  heathens.  Thorough  teachers  are  not  here,  and 
those  that  are  here  do  more  harm  than  good.  I  have  labored  as  faith- 
fully as  my  capacities  would  permit,  and  as  the  Lord  gave  me  strength; 
but  one  arm  is  too  short.  I  notice  every  day  with  sadness  that  sometimes 
there  is  want  in  one  place,  then  in  another,  and  often  in  all  places.  My 
labor  extended  itself  always  more  over  the  entire  field  than  over  any 
single  locality,  and  yet  always  so  as  to  give  Buffalo  Creek  congregation 
my  chief  attention,  which  has  always,  from  the  beginning,  accepted  the 
word  with  gladness.  One  has  to  labor  here  more  as  an  apostle  than  as 
the  pastor  of  one  congregation.  If  one  were  to  confine  one's  self  to  one 
congregation  much  good  could  be  done,  but  that  would  be  to  the  injury 
of  the  entire  church." 

Nussmann's  application  for  help  was  successful,  Dr.  Velthusen  became 
interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  North  Carolina  Churches,  and  through 
his  instrumentality  did  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  once  more  provide  help. 
Two  ministers  were  sent  over  in  1788,  one  of  whom  was  the  Rev.  Charles 
Augustus  Gottlieb  Storch,  who  became  the  third  pastor  of  Organ  Church,, 
and  during  his  ministry  your  present  Church  edifice,  which  had  been 
left  unfinished  during  the  unsettled  condition  of  the  country,  was  com- 
pleted and  dedicated  in  1794,  one  hundred  years  ago. 

During  the  twenty  years  intervening  between  the  withdrawal  of  the 
Lutherans  from  the  old  Hickory  Church  and  the  completion  of  the 
present  stone  building,  the  congregation  worshiped  in  a  temporary 
structure  built  of  logs,  which  was  located  northward  of  the  present  stone 
Church;  it  was  in  that  house  of  worship  where  Rev.  Arend  preached  and 
was  ordained,  and  where  his  successor,  Rev.  Storch,  commenced  his 
labors.  This  fact  we  learn  from  the  title  deed  of  the  Church,  and  the 
tradition  of  its  oldest  members,  some  of  whom  yet  remember  seeing  the 
ruins  of  the  old  building. 

In  the  Duchy  of  Brunswick,  lying  eastward  of  Hannover  and  westward 
from  Berlin,  there  is  a  small  city  of  less  than  10,000  inhabitants,  named 
Helmstaedt,  in  which  there  was  at  one  time  a  noted  university  called 
Julia  Carolinia,  (one  of  the  Helmstaedt  reports  calls  it  the  Julias  Charles 
university)  it  was  founded  in  the  year  1576,  and  since  1809  is  no  longer 
in  existence,  for  at  that  time  under  the  Bonaparte  rule  its  endowment 
funds  were  sequestrated,  leaving  nothing  but  the  empty  buildiDgs  to 
remind  us  of  its  former  existence.  Those  buildings  are  still  standing;  I 
visited  them  in  1877,  and  have  a  picture  of  them  with  me.  Its  importance 
to  us  is  at  least  this,  that  the  celebrated  Church  Historian,  Mosheim,  was 
professor  there  from  1723  to  1747;  also  that  through  Pastor  Nussmann's 
appeal  to  one  of  its  professors,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  C.  Velthusen,  a  small  mission 
society  was  established,  which  took  charge  of  the  mission  field  in  North 
Carolina  after  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  labored  for  the  welfare  of  our 
Churches,  issuing  at  stated  times  certain  mission  reports  of  the  condition 
of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  this  State  and  South  Carolina,  which  are  now 
known  as  the  Helmstaedt  Reports;  and  lastly,  in  that  city  the  Rev. 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


31 


Charles  A.  G.  Storch  was  born,  June  10,  1764,  confirmed  by  Dr.  Velt- 
husen,  and  graduated  in  its  University  in  1785. 

Of  Rev.  Storch  Dr.  Velthusen  writes  in  one  of  the  Helmstaedt  Reports 
as  follows:  "He  was  born  in  Helmstaedt  and  trained  under  our  own 
eyes.  During  the  years  that  he  was  private  tutor  in  Zell-J  and  Diepholz 
repeated  assurances  came  to  us  of  his  fidelity  from  those  persons  who 
had  daily  opportunity  to  observe  his  capacities  as  teacher,  and  who  also 
reported  that  they  loved  to  hear  him  preach. 

"After  the  most  thorough  examination  we  have  found  him  exceptionably 
well  qualified;  the  public  proofs  of  his  preaching  and  catechization  which 
he  has  afforded  us  before  his  nomination  to  his  field  of  labor  have  been 
very  satisfactory.  The  family  where  he  last  labored  as  a  teacher  very 
unwillingly  gave  him  up;  he  returned  to  the  same  friendly  family  in  the 
vicinity  of  Bremen  to  await  the  soon  expected  sailing  of  the  ship  to 
Baltimore  in  which  he  is  to  embark." 

It  would  consume  too  much  of  our  time  to  give  you  an  account  of  the 
services  connected  with  the  ordination  of  Rev.  Storch  as  missionary  to 
North  Carolina,  which  took  place  in  the  large  city  Church,  March  12th, 
1788;  the  sermon,  addresses,  and  even  the  poem  written  for  the  occasion 
by  Dr.  Velthusen  are  all  published  in  the  Helmstaedt  Reports,  but  I 
very  reluctantly  must  omit  them  here. 

Suffice  it  to  say,  that  he  sailed  from  Bremen  in  the  month  of  May,  and 
landed  in  Baltimore  June  27th,  1788;  thence  he  sailed  to  Charleston, 
S.  C,  and  traveled  overland  from  that  city  to  Nussmann's  home,  where 
he  arrived  safely  the  following  September. 

The  call  extended  to  Rev.  Storch  came  from  the  Churches  in 
Guilford  County,  and  where  he  at  first  expected  to  labor;  but  Providence 
ordered  it  otherwise.  He  was  taken  sick  at  Pastor  Nussmann's  house 
soon  after  his  arrival,  and  felt  himself  too  feeble  to  undertake  the  long 
journey  of  100  miles  on  horseback  to  reach  his  field  of  labor.  Rev. 
Nussmann  writes,  under  date  of  November  12th,  1788:  "Rev.  Storch's 
sickness  gave  me  much  uneasiness  and  sorrow,  for  I  love  him  on  account 
of  his  learning,  virtue,  spirit  and  friendship.  All  persons  who  see  and 
hear  him  love  and  honor  him.  He  is  now  again  restored,  and  may  God 
preserve  his  health  in  future." 

During  his  short  stay  at  Rev.  Nussmann's  home  "a  call  was  extended 
to  him  from  the  three  vacant  Churches,  Salisbury,  Pine  Church  and 
Second  Creek,  with  the  written  assurance  of  a  salary  of  £110,  and  in  a 
few  days  afterward  £14  more  from  a  congregation  seven  miles  distant 
from  Salisbury,  which  he  will  have  to  serve  during  the  week  day.  These 
congregations  also  promised  to  pay  the  freight  on  his  things,  which  will 
be  about  two  Spanish  dollars  for  every  hundred  pounds." 

Rev.  Storch  felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to  accept  this  call,  and  preached  his 
first  sermon  in  Organ  Church,  October  26th,  1788,  and  in  Salisbury  on 
the  following  Sunday,  November  2d,  being  the  23d  and  24th  Sundays  after 
Trinity.  His  home  he  made  in  Salisbury,  and  took  up  his  lodgings  with 
Mr.  Lewis  Beard,  whose  daughter,  Christiana,  he  subsequently  married, 
on  the  14th  of  January,  1790.  The  next  year  after  his  arrival  he  reported, 
that  of  his  three  congregations  the  Second  Creek  Church  is  the  strongest, 


32 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


consisting  of  eighty-seven  families.  He  also  praises  the  people,  who 
treat  him  with  love  and  respect,  and  supply  him  with  the  necessaries  of 
life.  In  the  Academy  of  Salisbury  he  gave  the  students  instruction  in 
the  Hebrew  language,  and  also  established  a  small  German  school,  so 
that  the  youth  would  accustom  themselves  to  a  purer  German  language. 

Pine  Church  is  now  better  known  as  Union  Church,  and  the  fourth 
congregation  which  Pastor  Storch  also  served  during  the  week  day,  and 
which  he  spoke  of  as  "the  Irish  settlement,"  is  now  called  the  Lutheran 
Chapel  near  China  Grove,  N.  C. 

On  New  Year's  day,  1789,  the  congregation  of  Organ  Church  adopted 
a  constitution  for  its  rules  of  government,  it  was  but  a  short  one,  and 
shows  how  carefully  your  forefathers  labored  for  order  and  discipline  in 
their  Church  matters.  Seventy  eight  persons  subscribed  their  names  to 
the  new  constitution,  and  the  same  also  promised  their  pastor  a  yearly 
salary  of  £40  North  Carolina  currency. 

In  Volume  8  of  the  Evangelical  Review,  p.  403,  Pastor  Storch's 
memoir,  mention  is  made  of  his  labors  in  other  fields,  as  follows:  "His 
missionary  tours  to  South  Carolina  are  still  held  in  grateful  remembrance, 
and  spoken  of  with  the  deepest  reverence  and  affection,  by  many  who, 
through  his  instrumentality,  were  first  brought  from  darkness  into  light, 
and  from  the  kingdom  of  Satan  into  that  of  the  living  God.  He  never 
seemed  happier  than  when  laboring  for  the  salvation  of  immortal  souls, 
and  for  the  extention  of  Christ's  kingdom."  Kev.  S.  Rothrock  wrote  of 
him  to  this  author  of  the  memoir:  "Mr.  Storch  was  truly  a  man  of  God! 
Many  are  yet  living  who  formerly  sat  under  his  preaching,  in  whose 
hearts  he  is  sacredly  embalmed,  and  who  still  cherish  for  him  the  most 
profound  respect," 

For  thirty- five  years  did  Pastor  Storch  labor  with  great  success  in  this 
Church  in  favor  with  God  and  man,  although  great  dissensions  arose  -in 
the  Lutheran  Church  in  this  State  during  his  time  of  service,  with  which 
we  are  all  familiar,  yet  he  labored  on  in  his  Master's  vineyard  as  long  as 
his  health  permitted.  He  had  often  received  urgent  calls  to  labor  as  pastor 
in  more  prominent  places  and  with  much  more  lucrative  salaries,  one  of 
which  was  from  Charleston,  S.  C,  before  Rev.  Dr.  Bachman  came  there, 
but  Rev.  Storch  declined  them  all,  and  preferred  to  live,  labor  and  die 
among  his  beloved  people  of  this  congregation. 

During  the  period  of  his  ministry  here  he  baptized  1500  children,  and 
confirmed  1300  young  people  in  Organ  Church  alone,  and  probably  as 
many  more  in  his  other  congregations. 

At  last  his  feeble  state  of  health  necessitated  him  to  resign  in  1823, 
although  he  lived  several  years  afterwards;  this  was  the  first  congregation 
he  served  and  the  last  he  resigned,  the  other  Churches  he  had  given  up 
a  year  or  so  before  that  time.  God  however  spared  his  life  for  nearly 
eight  years  longer,  but  they  were  years  of  sickness,  which  often  kept 
him  in  bed,  during  which  time  he  continued  to  take  the  deepest  interest 
in  the  welfare  of  his  former  congregations  and  the  Synod,  sighing  and 
praying  for  the  prosperity  of  Zion,  and  contributing  to  advance  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  with  his  means.  •. 

He  was  probably  one  of  the  most  learned  ministers  that  ever  was 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


33 


connected  with  our  Synod,  and  had  a  large  and  valuable  library,  mostly 
o£  German  authors.  Many  of  his  books  he  bequeathed  to  the  Theological 
Seminary  library  of  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  of  which  institution  he  was  elected 
one  of  its  first  directors;  the  remainder  of  his  books  are  in  possession  of 
our  college  at  Mt.  Pleasant. 

"The  last  days  of  Rev.  Storch's  life  were  very  painful,"  says  the 
minutes  of  North  Carolina  Synod,  1831,  "until  his  Friend  Jesus  took 
him  to  h"s  eternal  rest."  "When  the  hour  of  his  departure  came  he  was 
ready.  Death  to  him  had  no  terrors,  his  disembodied  spirit  gently 
passed  from  earth  to  heaven  on  the  29th  of  March,  1831,  in  the  sixty- 
seventh  year  of  his  age." 

The  fourth  pastor  of  Organ  Church  was  the  Rev.  Daniel  Scherer,  with 
whom  I  became  personally  acquainted  on  his  tour  to  the  South  collecting 
funds  for  the  Lutheran  College  of  Springfield,  Illinois,  whilst  I  was  a 
student  of  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Lexington,  S.  C. 

Rev.  Scherer  came  from  Virginia,  and  labored  in  Organ  Church  for  a 
period  of  only  six  years;  his  piety,  usefulness,  mild  and  inoffensive 
disposition  endeared  him  to  the  whole  Church  in  this  and  other  States; 
he  likewise  labored  here  with  great  success,  and  had  at  one  time  probably 
the  largest  class  of  catechumens,  numbering  eighty-three  persons,  that 
ever  were  confirmed  in  this  Church,  during  the  sessions  of  the  Synod 
held  here  in  1823,  the  result  of  Pastor  Storch's  faithful  labors. 

In  1829,  the  Rev.  Jacob  Kaempfer,  of  the  Theological  Seminary  at 
Gettysburg,  became  the  pastor  of  Organ  Church,  which  he  served  in 
connection  with  some  other  congregations  in  the  vicinity;  but  he  remained 
only  three  years,  when  he  resigned  and  returned  to  Pennsylvania. 

In  the  year  1832,  the  Rev.  Henry  Graeber,  who  was  licensed  by  the 
Pennsylvania  Ministerium,  June  7th,  1818,  and  ordained  in  Frederick- 
town,  Md.,  September  5th,  1821,  and  who  six  years  afterwards  removed  to 
Lincoln  County,  N.  C,  where  he  had  labored  with  much  success,  now 
accepted  the  call  to  Organ  and  St.  John's  Churches,  which  was  also 
vacant  at  that  time.  He  accordingly  became  the  sixth  pastor  of  this 
congregation,  and  labored  here  with  much  success,  faithfully  discharging 
his  duty.  Several  times  was  he  elected  the  President  of  the  North 
Carolina  Synod,  and  seems  with  his  wise  counsels  to  have  been  a  man  of 
considerable  influence  in  the  Synod  and  in  this  community.  In  connection 
with  his  ministry  he  also  practiced  medicine,  on  account  of  which  he  was 
often  known  as  Dr.  Graeber.  How  long  he  might  have  remained  here  in 
his  ministerial  capacity  is  not  known,  but  death  soon  claimed  him,  when 
he  had  not  yet  completed  his  fifty-first  year,  and  after  a  short  illness  he 
unexpectedly  departed  this  life  on  the  11th  of  September,  1843,  having 
served  his  pastorate  here  but  eleven  years,  from  1832  to  1843. 

Most  of  your  pastors  have  left  an  imperishable  name  among  you  and 
in  the  Church  at  large  by  their  pious,  useful  and  honorable  posterity. 
Rev.  Nussman's  descendants  are  all  around  you  to  the  fourth,  fifth  and 
sixth  generation,  some  bearing  the  Nussmanname;  and  others,  descendants 
on  the  female  side,  among  whom  is  Dr.  Paul  A.  Barrier,  of  Mt.  Pleasant, 
N.  C,  have  his  blood  coursing  in  their  veins;  and  all,  as  far  as  I  know, 
are  an  honor  to  their  illustrious  forefathers. 


34 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


Some  of  Rev.  Storch's  descendants  have  honored  their  father  and 
grandfather  by  occupying  eminent  positions  in  the  Lutheran  Church  in 
Pennsylvania  and  Maryland,  both  were  authors,  and  both  were  honored 
with  the  title  of  Doctor  of  Divinity;  but,  alas!  both  are  now  numbered 
with  the  dead;  my  personal  acquaintance  with  them  has  been  of  the  most 
pleasing  character.  The  other  descendants  on  his  daughter's  side  are 
residing  in  Mississippi,  and  are  also  highly  respected. 

Rev.  Daniel  Scherer's  posterity  reside  in  the  far  West,  and  one  of  his 
grandsons  is  in  the  Lutheran  ministry,  whilst  a  grand-nephew  of  his  is 
our  Missionary  to  Japan. 

Of  Rev.  Arend's  posterity  I  know  but  little,  they  reside  mostly  "West 
of  the  Catawba  River. 

Rev.  Graeber  has  two  sons  still  living,  one  of  whom  and  his  children 
occupy  useful  positions  in  Rowan  County,  the  other  son  has  removed  his 
family  to  Alamance  County. 

Here  I  propose  to  close  this  lengthy  historical  address,  leaving  to 
others  to  write  and  narrate  all  subsequent  events  that  have  occurred  in 
Organ  Church  congregation  within  the  recollection  of  still  living 
witnesses. 

I  might  say  much  still  of  the  great  exodus  of  settlers  from  this  Church 
to  the  Western  States,  and  localities  farther  South;  of  the  many  daughter 
congregations  that  have  been  formed  all  around  Organ  Church;  yet, 
notwithstanding  all  this  loss  of  numerical  strength,  this  congregation  is 
still  large,  and  able  to  accomplish  much  good  for  the  honor  of  her  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  the  upbuilding  of  his  kingdom,  and  the  welfare  of  man. 

I  might  also  speak  of  its  conservative  and  solid  character,  of  the 
progress  it  has  made  during  the  past  century,  of  the  many  departed 
worthies  that  sleep  their  last  sleep  here  in  the  adjoining  cemetery;  but  I 
must  desist,  and  only  say,  that  I  hope  that  the  future  history  of  Organ 
Church  will  be  as  illustrious  as  its  past  has  been,  and  its  people  as  firm, 
solid  and  immovable  in  their  faith  as  the  rocks  that  lie  imbedded  in  the 
earth  all  around  you,  reposing  securely  on  their  primeval  foundations. 

At  the  close  of  Dr.  Bernheim's  address  the  choir  sang  with  powerful 
effect,  "My  church,  my  church,  my  dear  old  church,"  and  an  intermis- 
sion for  dinner  was  taken. 

In  the  afternoon  the  exercises  were  conducted  by  Rev.  W.  A.  Lutz, 
and  the  following  prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  H.  M.  Brown: 

Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven,  we  bless  and  thank  thee  that  wTe  are  permi'ted 
again  to  assemble  on  this  memorable  occasion.  We  pray  thee  to  bless  what  has 
been  said  this  morning  for  the  good  of  thy  Church,  and  the  advancement  of  thy 
kingdom,  and  O  Lord,  guide  and  direct  us  with  thy  Spirit  this  afternoon,  that 
what  may  be  said  and  done  may  be  for  the  good  of  Zion.  Many  of  us  here  have 
been  consecrated  to  thee  at  this  altar.  O  bless  them,  and  make  of  them  instru- 
ments in  thy  hands  for  the  accomplishment  of  good.  Help  them  to  be  faithful 
and  true  to  thee,  to  let  their  light  shine  before  men  in  good  works,  that  others 
may  be  brought  unto  thee. 

Let  thy  blessings  rest  upon  thy  Church  universal,  and  O  Lord,  especially  do 
we  pray  thee  to  bless  our  beloved  Lutheran  Church,  in  which  we  labor,  we  toil, 
we  sacrifice.  Bless  her  ministers,  many  of  whom  are  in  foreign  lands,  and  help 
them  to  proclaim  thy  Word  in  its  purity  and  truth.  Bless  her  millions  who  have 
been  consecrated  to  thee  at  her  altars,  and  help  them  to  live,  labor,  and  sacrifice 
for  thee. 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


35 


Let  thy  blessings  rest  upon  this  Church  whose  walls  have  stood  for  a  century, 
and  where  thy  Word  has  been  preached  and  thy  name  hallowed  for  over  a  hun- 
dred years,  and  O  Lord;  let  thy  richest  blessing  be  upon  the  present  living  mem- 
bers. Give  them  of  thy  good  Spirit  that  t.iey  may  be  true  and  faithful  to  thee  in 
thy  vineyard. 

And  now,  dear  Saviour,  into  thy  hands  we  commend  us.  Thou  hast  purchased 
us  with  thy  own  precious  blood,  we  are  thy  children,  O  help  us  all  more  and 
more  to  love  thee;  ever  keep  us  near  thee,  with  thee,  in  thee;  and  at  last  when 
one  by  one  we  shall  be  called  to  bid  adieu  to  the  scenes  and  activities  of  this 
present  life,  may  we  all  be  united  with  thee  in  thy  eternal  kingdom  above,  we 
ask  for  Jesus  sake.  Amen. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  prayer  and  the  singing  of  a  hymn,  Rev.  W.  A. 
Lutz  introduced  Rev.  F.  W.  E.  Pescb.au,  D.  D.,  in  fitting  and  appropriate 
terms,  when  he  delivered  the  following  address: 

Address  of  Rev.  F.  W.  E.  Peschan,  I).  P. 

Beloved  fathers  and  brethren  in  Israel,  who  are  in  the  ministerial 
ranks  here  to-day,  and  ye  noble  descendants  of  the  noble  pioneer  pastors, 
beloved  fathers  and  mothers  in  Israel,  and  friends  in  Christ  among  the 
dear  laity  of  the  Churches  of  the  dear  old  Synod  and  ministerium  of 
North  Carolina,  in  Christian  love  and  with  Christian  reverence  I  greet 
you  on  this  auspicious  day,  and  in  this  historical  and  holy  old  building 
where  a  century  ago  an  entirely  different  scene  was  witnessed,  there  being 
different  speakers  to  speak,  different  hearers  gathered  to  hear,  different 
singers  to  sing,  and  even  a  different  language  used.  We  are  met  to-day 
as  it  were  by  common  consent  to  heed  the  Divine  admonition  of  God's 
Word  and  learn  lessons  from  it  as  recorded  it  Deut.  Zl\  7-9-12. 

"Remember  the  days  of  old,  consider  the  years  of  many  generations,  ask  thy 
father  and  he  will  show  thee,  thy  elders  and  they  will  tell  thee. 

For  the  Lord's  portion  is  his  people;  Jacob  is  the  lot  of  his  inheritance; 

He  found  him  in  a  desert  land  and  in  the  waste  howling  wilderness;  He  led  him 
about,  He  instructed  him,  He  kept  him  as  the  apple  of  His  eye. 

As  an  eagle  stirreth  up  her  nest,  fluttereth  over  her  young,  spreadeth  abroad  her 
wings,  taketh  them,  beareth  them  on  her  wings. 

So  the  Lord  alone  did  lead  him." 

And  is  it  not  wonderful  how  these  words  apply  to  our  forefathers  ? 
Were  they  not  in  a  desert  (lonely)  land  and  in  the  waste  unknown  wil- 
derness filled  with  the  howling  of  wild  beasts?  And  did  not  God  protect 
them,  as  an  eagle  her  young,  in  the  hours  of  their  helplessness? 

We  have  met  to  be  impressed  with  the  beautiful  fact  that  "The  memory 
of  the  just  is  blessed,"  and  that  we,  recognizing  this  truth,  should,  ac- 
cording to  Divine  doctrine,  give  "honor  to  whom  honor  is  due."  If  God 
keeps  his  promise,  "For  them  that  honor  me,  I  will  honor,"  then  it  is 
meet,  right,  proper  and  even  our  duty  to  honor  those  dear  men  of  faith, 
whose  life  and  labors  put  upon  the  Church  and  cause  we  love,  honor  that 
will  increase  in  lustre  and  power  as  the  ages  roll. 

In  such  historical  matters  we  can  deal  only  with  historical  data  and 
historical  information,  and  must  therefore  with  a  poet  admit  and  only 
claim : 

We  have  gathered  posies  from  other  men's  flowers. 
Nothing  but  the  threads  that  bind  them  are  ours." 

We  take  a  glance  at  first  in  a  general  way,  to  the  men  of  our  Church 


36 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


in  this  country  in  the  great  past  up  to  the  time  of  the  "Revolutionary 
war,"  then  during  that  fearful  crisis  in  which  the  North  Carolinians  took 
such  a  noble  part,  and  then  more  directly  at  the  pious,  scholarly,  devoted 
and  superior  men  who  were  the  pastors  of  this  famous  old  "Organ 
Church,"  as  it  is  so  widely  and  popularly  known,  and  whose  memory 
is  precious  and  ever  will  be  precious  to  us,  and  who  though  dead  are  still 
revered  by  us,  and  whose  names  are  still  fragrant  among  us,  as  one  has  said: 

"You  may  break,  you  may  shatter,  vase  if  you  will, 
But  the  sceut  of  the  roses  will  cliug  to  it  still." 

Well  has  Goethe  said,  "The  dead  still  live  for  us." 

With  truth  has  Jean  Paul  Richter  said,  "To  whomsoever  the  holy  dead 
are  of  no  consequence,  to  him  the  living  are  so  too." 

The  history  of  the  introduction,  establishment  and  consequent  growth 
of  our  Church  in  this  country  is  thrillingly  interesting  and  inspiring. 
Whilst  judging  it  in  the  light  of  the  coming  dawn  of  the  20th  century, 
and  in  view  of  its  after  effects  of  the  mistakes  long  since  discovered,  and 
in  a  measure  counteracted,  as  well  as  its  proper,  legitimate  and  faithful 
work  performed,  we  may  find  things  here  and  there  for  censure,  but 
taking  it  "all  in  all,"  it  has  been  gratifying,  surprising  and  even  wonder- 
ful. When  we  remember  and  realize  too,  that  both  North  of  this  Synod 
and  South  of  it  also,  our  Lutheran  brethren  or  ancestors  had  superior 
advantages  by  dint  of  superior  numbers  of  both  ministers  and  members, 
more  compact  colonization,  closer  proximity  to  oceanic  facilities  for  travel, 
and  having  more  direct  means  of  communication  with  the  fatherland,  we 
think  the  history  of  Lutheranism  in  North  Carolina  all  the  grander.  It 
was  more  of  a  case  of  "help  yourself"  than  in  some  other  places  where 
pastors  came  right  along  with  the  hopeful  colony,  and  hence  gave  by 
iheir  very  presence  zest  to  church  love  and  fidelity. 

According  to  figures  that  seem  well  founded,  all  the  Dutch,  Swedish 
and  German  settlements  of  Lutherans  in  this  country  antedate  us  here  in 
North  Carolina,  except  the  one  settlement  at  Newberne,  North  Carolina, 
which  seems  never  to  have  had  much  to  do  with  the  Germanic  settle- 
ments in  Rowan,  Cabarrus,  Lincoln  and  other  counties. 

The  following  exhibit  shows  that  the  settlements  as  to  date  are : 

1.  The  Dutch  or  Holland  Lutherans  in  New  York  in  1623. 

2.  The  Swedish  settlement  near  Philadelphia  in  1636. 

3.  The  Dutch  or  Holland  Lutherans,  James  Island,  S.  C,  1674 

4.  The  German  colonies  in  Maryland,  Virginia  and  the  West,  in  1680. 

5.  The  German  settlement  at  Newberne,  N.  C.,  separate  and  distinct 
from  those  in  this  neighborhood,  in  1710. 

6.  The  German  colonies  at  Ebenezer,  Ga.,  in  1734. 

7.  The  Church  of  Spottsylvania,  Madison  County,  Va.,  in  1735,  which 
received  help  to  the  amount  £3,000  from  Germany. 

About  this  time,  1733,  Lutherans  were  so  numerous  in  Pennsylvania 
that  they  sent  a  deputation  or  committee  over  to  Germany  to  secure  pas- 
tors for  Philadelphia,  New  Hanover  and  Providence,  who  gave  a  sad  pic- 
ture of  affairs  in  this  country  at  that  time,  when  they  unite  we  are  "in  a 
land  full  of  sects  and  heresy;  without  ministers  and  teachers,  schools, 
churches  and  books." 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


37 


This  deputation  was  instrumental  in  bringing  over  to  America,  Eevs. 
Muhlenberg,  Brunnholz,  Handschuh,  Kurtz  and  others,  and  thus  laid  the 
foundation  for  the  formation  of  the  oldest  Synod  of  America,  the  Penn- 
sylvania, in  1748,  at  a  time  when  already  little  by  little  the  immigration 
from  the  North  set  in  for  North  Carolina,  which  in  1750,  culminated  in 
the  settling  of  several  counties  of  this  State.  And  now  we  come  more 
directly  to  this  part  of  dear  and  grand  old  North  Carolina  and  its  Luth- 
eran pioneers  and  settlers.  Gathering  more  and  more  in  numbers  from 
1750  to  1772,  think  of  it,  22  years  without  ministers,  and  compelled  to 
have  some  devout  brother  read  God's  Word,  books  of  devotion,  instruc- 
tion and  sermons,  as  Christian  sea  captains  often  do  to  their  crews  on 
Sunday  in  these  times,  they  had  no  Church,  no  sacraments,  no  pastors, 
and  to  add  to  it  all,  the  war-clouds  were  muttering  with  threatening 
storms  against  the  sky  and  with  ever  increasing  force.  Yet,  in  the  midst 
of  this  all,  they  send  for  a  pastor.  What  a  sublime  sight  to  see  this 
Committee  of  Christ — loving,  earnest,  faithful,  self-sacrificing  Christian 
Lutherans — Rintelmann,  Christopher  Layerle — sail  over  the  great  deep, 
in  the  days  in  which  a  Dr.  Johnson  said,  "He  that  can  go  to  jail,  will  not 
cross  the  sea."  Now  who  knows  but  God  what  prayers  were  sent  up  to 
God's  throne  from  these  hills  and  valleys  by  our  pious,  German  Lutheran 
ancestors  for  this  committee  and  for  a  minister  after  God's  own  heart. 
And  lo!  he  comes  in  the  person  of  Rev.  Adolphus  Nussmann,  the  prayer- 
hearing  and  prayer-answering  God  having  granted  them  their  heart's  de- 
sires according  to  his  divine  promise. 

When  we  remember  the  troubles  that  encumbered  our  ministers  and 
members  in  those  trying  times,  it  seems  a  wonder  both  that  they  under- 
took to  establish  themselves  and  the  Church,  and  that  the  church  ever 
survived.  We  recall  some  of  the  troubles,  for  they  heighten  the  glory  of 
our  Church's  history,  just  as  darkness  brings  out  the  glory  of  the  stars. 

Several  Swedish  pastors  were  literally  banished  from  New  Sweden. 
Rev.  John  E.  Goetwater,in  1057,  half  escaped  banishment  or  imprison- 
ment in  New  York.  In  New  York  ministers  were  fined  £100  for  preach- 
ing a  Lutheran  sermon,  and  the  members  were  lined  £25  for  attending  a 
Lutheran  service,  and  £10  for  having  a  child  baptized  by  a  Lutheran 
minister. 

The  Lutheran  cause  in  South  Carolina,  in  1074,  suffered  from  proscrip- 
tion from  the  church  of  England.  The  same  was  the  casein  old  Virginia. 
It  is  a  wonder,  therefore,  that  our  Lutheran  fore-fathers  in  North  Caro- 
lina ever  even  attempted  the  work  in  the  "Old  North  State." 

So,  harassed  and  troubled  on  all  sides,  our  Lutheran  Zion  was  planted 
to  grow  up  with  the  country,  and  to  remain  forever,  just  as  if  God  would 
plant  an  island  of  indestructible  rock  in  the  turbulent  seas. 

Add  to  this  all  the  horrors  endured  at  the  hands  ot  the  wild  andinfuri 
ated  Indians,  and  then  the  distress  caused  by  the  Revolutionary  War, 
concerning  which,  in  heated  debate  the  younger  Pitt  in  the  British  House 
of  Commons,  in  answer  to  an  English  Lord,  said:  "The  noble  Lord  has 
called  the  American  war  a  holy  war.  I  affirm  that  it  is  a  most  accursed 
war;  wicked,  barbarous,  cruel  and  unnatural;  conceived  in  injustice,  it 
was  brought  forth  and  nurtured  in  folly;  its  footsteps  are  m  trk^d  with 


38 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


slaughter  and  devastation,  while  it  meditates  destruction  to  the  miserable 
people  who  are  the  devoted  objects  of  the  resentments  which  produced  it." 

Judge  Schenck,  a  North  Carolina  historian,  writes:  "The  savage 
Indian  was  to  be  incited  by  English  emissaries  to  lay  waste  the  frontiers 
and  murder  its  citizens;  the  brutal  slave  was  offered  freedom  and  licen- 
tious indulgence  as  a  reward  for  treachery  to  his  master  and  for  service 
in  the  English  camp;  the  rules  for  civilized  warfare  were  to  be  disre- 
garded; solemn  pledges  to  the  citizens  were  broken,  paroles  of  prisoners 
ignored,  and  every  oppression  that  devilish  ingenuity  could  suggest  was 
to  be  exercised  in  order  to  crush  the  spirit  of  the  patriots  and  suppress 
the  so-called  rebellion. 

"The  marauding  bands  of  the  invaders  committed  acts  of  vindictiveness 
that  would  have  made  the  Duke  of  Alba  blush  with  shame." 

Again  Judge  Schenck  writes:  "No  respect  for  morality  or  humanity 
was  allowed  to  thwart  the  purposes  of  conquest.  No  rights  of  property 
were  to  be  recognized  among  rebels,  no  appeals  for  mercy  from  the  help- 
less were  to  be  heeded,  if  destruction  could  injure  the  American  cause, 
executions  cruel  and  remorseless  were  to  be  inflicted  on  prisoners  who 
dared  to  love  or  fight  for  liberty." 

What  a  pity  that  we  do  not  know  how  many  brave  Lutherans  fought, 
especially  as  privates,  in  this  great  struggle  for  freedom,  for  Germans 
seem  to  have  a  streak  of  the  military  in  their  nature,  and  as  they  could 
not  use  English  well,  were  of  course  generally  privates,  and  no  doubt  as 
such  did  much  to  add  honor  and  lustre  to  the  State  of  North  Carolina, 
and  helped  much  to  render  services  that  led  Hon.  Charles  Pinckney, 
President  of  the  South  Carolina  Senate  at  that  time  to  write  in  a  letter 
dated  February  24th,  1779:  "I  shall  ever  love  a  North  Carolinian,  and 
join  with  General  Moultrie  in  confessing  that  they  have  been  the  salvation 
of  this  country." 

Amid  such  exciting  and  unsettled  times  our  people  lived,  and  beloved 
Pastor  Nussmann  arrived.  Surely  the  poet's  words  express  their  faith 
and  courage  when  he  writes: 

"Trouble's  Darkest  hour 
Shall  not  make  me  cower 
To  the  spectre's  power  — 
Never,  never,  nev.-r! 

Then  up  my  soul  and  brace  thee, 
While  the  perils  face  thee, 
In  thyself  encase  thee, 
Manfully,  forever. 

Storms  may  howl  around  thee, 
Foes  may  haunt  and  hound  thee, 
Shall  they  overpower  thee? 
Nay,  while  God's  about  me, 
Never,  never,  never!" 

Revs.  Bolzius  and  Gronan,  of  Ebenezer,  Ga.,  were  both  dead  and  the 
older  Rev.  iMr.  Bergmann  preached  there  and  at  Savannah.  At  Charles- 
ton, S.  C,  a  Church  had  been  built  in  1759,  its  pastor,  Rev  John  Geo. 
Friedrich  having  arrived  in  1755,  and  at  the  time  of  the  war  this  Church 
was  served  by  Rev.  John  Nicholas  Martin. 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


39 


Up  to  1708  Salisbury  had  no  Church  of  any  kind,  for  Rev.  Mr.  Nuss- 
mann  was  the  first  pastor  there. 

Think  of  the  courage,  self-denial,  love  for  Christ  and  love  for  souls  it 
must  have  cost  to  corne  and  live  amid  primeval  forests  with  such  sur- 
roundings, and  yet  these  pioneer  Lutheran  pastors  came  and  remained 
and  died  at  their  post.    We  cannot  appreciate  them  too  much. 

Justly,  wisely  and  properly  does  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Schmucker  say,  "The 
memory  of  'The  Pilgrim  Fathers,'  is  cherished  by  our  New  England 
brethren,  with  an  interest  bordering  on  veneration. 

"And  yet  we  hesitate  not  to  affirm,  that  in  regard  to  piety  and  zeal 
father  Muhlenburg  and  Brunnholz  and  Handschuh  and  Bolzius  were  by 
no  means  inferior  to  Cotton,  Hooker  and  Davenport  or  the  Mathers,  and 
in  learning  they  were  their  superiors." 

What  is  true  of  these  noble  Lutheran  heroes,  pioneers  and  zealous 
laborers  is  also  in  every  sense  true  of  the  Lutheran  pioneers  and  heroes 
of  North  Carolina,  namely,  Rev.  Adolphus  Nussmann,  John  Gottlieb 
Arndt,  Carl  Augustus  Gottlieb  Storch  and  others.  No  men  of  any  de- 
nomination, no  scholars  of  any  part  of  this  land  were  better  than  these 
great  and  good  men  in  life's  various  relations,  who  were  a  part  of  the 
twenty-four  Lutheran  ministers  in  the  United  States  about  a  century  ago. 

We  now  consider  more  closely  the  lives  and  labors,  the  success  and  in- 
fluence, the  death  and  burial,  the  last  resting  places  and  the  outgrowth  of 
the  work  of  these  worthy  Lutheran  pastors  who  were  here  in  life  and  as 
good  health  and  strength  as  we  are  to-day,  a  century  ago  and  since  that 
time,  but  who  have  gone  the  way  of  all  flesh. 

The  ministerial  life  and  history  of  this  Church  is,  indeed,  remarkable. 
In  its  history  it  seems  to  have  been  vacant  but  one  year.  It  has  had 
fourteen  different  pastors,  whose  names  and  time  of  service  are  as 
follows : 

Rev.  Adolphus  Nussmann,  one  year,  1773-1774 

Rev.  Gottleib  Arndt,  ten  years,  1775-1785 

Rev.  Adolphus  Nussmann,  two  years,  1785-1787 

Vacant,  one  year  1787-1788 

Rev.  Carl  Augustus  Gottleib  Storch,  thirty-five  years,  1788-1823 

Rev.  Daniel  Scherer,  six  ysars,  1823-1829 

Rev.  Jacob  Kaempfer,  four  years,  1829-1832 

Rev.  Henry  Graeber,  eleven  years,  1832-1843 

Rev.  Samuel  Rothrock,  twenty-two  years,  1844-1866 

Rev.  W.  H.  Cone,  four  months,  Jan.  1,  1866-May  1,  1866 

Rev.  William  Artz  May  1,  1866 

Rev.  Samuel  Rothrock,  six  months,  July  1,  1868-Jan.  1,  1869 

Revs.  S.  Scherer  and  W.  H.  Cone,  one  year,  1869-1870 

Rev.  W.  H.  Cone,  three  years  and  four  months,  Jan.  1,  1870-May  1,  1873 

Rev.  W.  R.  Ketchie,  one  year,  June  1873-June  1874 

Rev.  P.  A.  Strobel,  one  year  and  eight  months,  Jan.  1,  1874-Oct.  1,  1875 

Rev.  Samuel  Rothrock,  ten  years,  Jan.  1,  1876-Jan.  1,  1886 

Rev.  W.  R.  Brown,  eight  years,  July  1,  1886-Jan.  1,  1894 

Rev.  George  H.  Cox,  two  months,  Feb.  1,  1894 


40 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


A  better  set  of  ministers  no  Church  ever  had.  The  living  as  well  as 
the  dead  deserve  the  highest  praise. 

Revs.  Nussmann,  Rothrock  and  Cone  each  served  the  Church  several 
times.  Pastor  Storch  labored  the  longest  time,  namely  thirty -five  years, 
and  next  in  length  of  service  comes  Pastor  Rothrook  who  served  thirty- 
tivo  and  a  half  years. 

The  ministers  who  are  dead  are: 
Rev.  Adolphus  Nussmann.  Rev.  Henry  Graeber. 

Rev.  Johann  Gottlieb  Arndt.  Rev.  William  Artz. 

Rev.  Carl  Augustus  Gottlieb  Storch.    Rev.  Simeon  Scherer. 
Rev.  Daniel  Scherer.  Rev.  Phillip  A.  Strobel. 

Rev.  Jacob  Kaempfer. 

God  be  praised,  some  of  the  living  pastors,  namely,  Revs.  Samuel 
Rothrock,  D.  D.,  W.  R.  Ketchie  and  Geo.  H.  Cox  are  present  with  us  to 
take  part  in  these  memorable  and  memorial  services,  and  we  can  but  re- 
gret that  Revs.  W.  H.  Cone  and  W.  R.  Brown  are  not  here. 

The  pastoral  work  performed  was  unfortunately  not  recorded  as  it 
should  have  been,  for  there  are,  alas!  no  records  extant  of  work  done  by 
Revs.  Nussmann  and  Arndt,  the  first  two  pastors. 

Rev.  C.  A.  G.  Storch  roports  1,500  baptisms  and  that  he  had  confirmed 
1,300  persons. 

Rev.  S.  Rothrock  reports  having  baptized  7G3,  and  having  confirmed  769. 

Rev  Henry  Graeber  reports  having  confirmed  251  persons.  Thus  three 
pastors  confirmed  2,320  persons. 

Other  reports  the  Synod  Minutes  supply  and  will  be  given  in  your 
present  pastor's  address  and  outlines  of  the  Church's  history. 

There  is  no  estimating  the  noble  work  done.  Only  eternity  w7ill  reveal 
to  us  the  good  done,  the  many  souls  reached,  benefited  and  saved  for  God 
and  eternal  life.  There  is  no  law  of  computing  faithful  ministerial  labors 
and  regular  services  performed.  To  learn  this  we  must  cross  life's  last 
river.  The  lives  and  labors  of  these  servants  of  God  were  as  admirable 
as  they  were  successful,  and  their  success  was  as  great  as  their  disadvan- 
tages were  trying.  Their  success  seems  slow,  but  it  is  lasting,  and  after 
one  hundred  years,  the  foundation  they  laid,  and  the  work  they  did  is  a 
greater  center  of  influence  than  ever  before,  and  the  congregation  in  a 
better  condition  than  ever  in  its  history,  and  never  had  a  brighter  or  more 
promising  future.  If  it  had  not  been  for  the  fearful  war  of  1860-65,  who 
knows  where  Lutheranism  in  North  Carolina  would  have  been?  Dr. 
Morris  fittingly  pays  this  tribute:  "The  vigorous  faith,  Christian  heroism, 
holy  zeal  and  self-denying  efforts  which  characterized  our  earlier  minis- 
ters from  Germany  are  deserving  of  all  gratitude  and  admiration.  No 
one  can  read  the  narrative  of  their  trials  or  contemplate  the  character  of 
their  piety  without  instruction  and  profit.  They  were,  indeed,  devoted 
men  whose  precious  memory  will  be  cherished  by  the  pious  throughout 
all  time." 

In  all  of  this  we  heartily  concur.  It  will  be  hard  to  find  another 
Church  that  has  taken  it,  "all  in  all"  had  a  nobler  set  of  ministers  than 
"Old  Organ  Church."  The  trouble  has  been,  that  like  the  history  of 
North  Carolina  and  its  people,  our  people  have  not  had  the  full  measure 


History  of  Orfan  Church. 


41 


of  credit  given,  although  they  have  done  the  full  measure  of  their  duty, 
and  the  duties  performed  exerted  a  widespread!  influence,  both  directly 
and  indirectly,  and  both  for  God  and  humanity. 

Do  we  consider  the  Churches  organized  here,  or  the  congregations 
formed  in  Virginia,  South  Carolina,  Kentucky,  Tennesee,  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Texas,  etc.,  or  the  mighty  and  constant  and  vast  efforts  to  care 
for  our  scattered  Lutherans,  or  the  strength  given  to  others  in  various 
ways,  as  visiting  other  Churches  or  Synods,  sending  students  to  Gettys- 
burg when  each  student  counted  much,  or  if  we  look  at  the  members 
trained  by  them  and  sent  out  to  other  Churches  in  different  communities, 
or  if  we  look  at  the  grand  and  good  ministers  they  gave  to  the  Church, 
as  their  own  sons  or  grandsons,  as  the  two  Storks,  the  eleven  Scherers, 
the  two  Harkeys,  of  St  Michael's  Church,  etc.,  or  if  we  look  at  the  grand 
and  godly  men  they  won  for  our  cause  as  Father  Shober  of  blessed 
memory  and  our  dearly  beloved  Father  Rothrock  who  is  with  us  to-day, 
or  if  we  look  at  the  testimonials  of  honor  given  them  by  Caruthers  and 
others  outside  of  our  Church,  or  if  we  look  at  their  wisdom  in  building 
so  solid,  enduring  and  substantial  a  Church  as  this,  or  if  we  remember 
that  this  is  the  first  Church  in  all  this  region  that  had  a  superb  organ, 
or  if  we  see  how  wise  they  were  in  action  taken  or  recommendations 
offered  in  synodical  gatherings,  in  printing  books,  or  establishing  schools 
of  higher  education,  or  on  the  negro  problem,  or  in  having  liturgies, 
Church  papers,  etc.,  Sunday  Schools,  Missionary  Societies,  etc.,  or  of 
maintaining  purity  of  life  in  the  Church,  or  if  we  consider  their  prompt- 
ness, even  amid  forests  to  organize  the  first  Synod  of  our  Church  in  the 
Southland,  if  we  consider  this  we  connot  but  be  impressed  with  the  fact 
that  they  were  able,  worthy,  scholarly,  thoughtful,  intelligent,  far-seeing 
and  remarkable  men.  Whilst  they  made  mistakes,  we  must  be  surprised 
that  considering  everything,  that  they  did  not  make  more  mistakes  or 
mistakes  of  a  more  serious  nature,  when  "To  err  is  human." 

It  is  easier  to  be  a  Lutheran  now,  when  our  Church  is  strong,  though 
it  is  still  misunderstood,  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Virginia,  and 
minister  of  a  prominent  Church  once  asked  me  if  Lutherans  were  not  the 
most  extreme  synergists  in  the  world.  A  D.  D.  of  a  well-known  demomi- 
natiou  asked  me  if  our  Church  did  not  use  the  Heidelberg  Catechism,, 
but  the  worst  of  all  was,  when  I  was  asked  by  a  well  known  temperance 
lecturer  who  had  a  national  fame  if  we  did  not  believe  in  infant  baptism, 
and  a  Roman  Catholic  thinks  we  are  all  right  because  we  use  the  name  of 
the  Virgin  Mary  in  the  creed,  and  that  only  by  immersion.  If  we  are  so 
misunderstood  to-day,  how  must  it  have  been  a  century  ago,  when  thev 
tried  to  make  our  people  believe  that  the  Episcopal  Church  was  the 
Lutheran  Church  in  English  dress  and  form. 

Without  English  Lutheran  hymn  books,  liturgies,  books  of  sermons, 
papers,  etc.,  it  is  a  wonder  she  ever  survived  her  trying  periods.  Hear 
one  say  of  her  "In  Wilkes  County  may  be  found  a  small  German  flock  in 
the  wilderness,  surrounded  by  human  beings  who  know  of  nothing  so 
little  or  of  the  true  way  of  salvation,  and  who  in  their  own  opinions  are 
wiser  than  the  Bible  itself.  These  often  persecuted  the  members  of  the 
little  flock." 


42 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


Hear  Pastor  Franklow  give  his  experience:  "April  7th,  I  went  to  Mr. 
Moss  with  the  hope  of  filling  my  appointment  at  the  Edisto  Methodist 
meeting  house,  when  I  was  informed  that  they  objected  to  me  on  account 
of  my  being  a  Lutheran  minister." 

Hear  Pastor  Scherer:  "Proselyting  is  carried  on  extensively  here,  and 
some  of  the  Germans  have  united  with  the  Baptists  and  Methodists  but 
very  few  heathens  have  become  Christians." 

"The  spiritual  condition  of  Ohio  is  dark.  They  have  many  preachers, 
there  appears  to  be  a  want  of  such,  who  have  sound  doctrine  and  are  of 
good  repute." 

Think  of  the  hard  labors  in  the  long  journeys  upon  horseback,  in 
almost  impenetrable  forests,  the  holding  of  services  in  barns  and  other 
road  places  without  church  equipments  of  any  kind. 

How  much  then  Caruther's  remark  means:  "Nussmann  labored  faith- 
folly  in  poverty  and  privations,"  and  this  was  equally  true  of  others. 

These  men  of  God  were  sound  in  doctrine,  pure  in  life  and  held  to  the 
customs  of  the  Church  faithfully.  They  wore  robes,  conducted  the 
services  in  a  liturgical  manner,  catechised  and  confirmed  the  young  and 
cared  for  all,  and  if  only  their  example  in  all  these  matters  had  even 
been  followed,  how  much  better  it  would  have  been.  So  they  toiled, 
labored,  struggled  and  succeeded. 

The  work  done  in  middle  Tennessee,  I  have  seen  with  my  own  eyes, 
and  have  heard  the  praise  given  the  old  North  Carolina  Synod,  and  its 
pastors,  llevs.  William  Jenkins,  Daniel  Scherer,  etc.,  who  on  the  banks  of 
Duck  River,  preached  to  the  Lutherans  settled  along  the  stream,  and 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  present  Synod  of  middle  Tennessee.  It  has 
also  been  my  good  fortune  to  visit  Mount  Carme],  Illinois,  where  the 
sainted  Scherers  brought  about  a  congregation  that  exists  to  this  day, 
and  has  led  to  the  foundation  of  others. 

I  had  written  maty  pages  on  the  lives  of  the  various  pastors,  but  as 
there  appear  extended  and  able  sketches  in  the  "Organ  Edition"  of  the 
Lutheran  Visitor,  I  forbear  reproducing  them  here  and  present  only 
what  was  not  presented  there. 

I  made  many  efforts  to  secure  data  regarding  some  of  the  dear  dead 
pastors,  but  found  no  one  who  could  furnish  me  what  I  desired. 

I  could  not  ascertain  where  Rev.  Jacob  Kaempfer  was  buried. 
Information  was  sent  that  he  studied  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at 
Gettysburg,  Pa.,  1826-27,  that  he  was  a  classmate  of  our  venerable  Dr. 
Jno.  G.  Morris,  of  Baltimore,  but  he  himself,  when  visited  by  me,  could  give 
no  positive  informationD,  aud  he  ventured  to  say  that  he  thought  Pastor 
Kaempfer  had  married  a  Miss  Oswald  of  York. 

Rev.  Philip  A.  Stroble  after  leaving  old  North  Carolina,  served  a 
number  of  Churches  along  the  Hudson  river  in  New  York  State,  at  Cable- 
skill,  Danville,  etc.  He  was  an  active  worker  and  wrote  several  excellent 
books,  or  "The  History  of  the  Salzburgers,"  and  "The  Memorial  of  the 
Hartwick  Synod,  New  York,"  etc.  He  died  in  New  York  State  about 
twelve  years  ago,  and  I  learn  from  Rev.  Prof.  G.  W.  Fortney,  A.  M.,  a 
classmate  of  mine,  who  is  pastor  at  Rhinebeck,  New  York,  that  Pastor 
■Strobel  is  buried  in  the  Lutheran  cemetery  at  Red  Hook,  a  small, 


History  of  Organ  Church 


43 


beautiful  town  near  Rhinebeck.  Rev.  Mr.  Fortney  writes  me,  after  he 
visited  the  spot  for  me:  "There  stands  in  a  beautiful  spot  in  the  south  east 
corner  of  the  Red  Hook  Cemetery  a  granite  monument  5|  feet  high,  of 
3  pieces  and  nicely  proportioned.  This  inscription  marks  the  last  resting 
place  of  the  remains  of  Rev.  P.  A.  Strobel.  He  died  November  24,  1882, 
aged  70  years.  Also  the  remains  of  his  brother,  Rev.  W.  D.  Strobel, 
D.  D.,  died  December  6th,  1884,  aged  76  years."  No  other  inscriptions 
are  to  be  seen.  Mrs.  P.  A.  Strobel  and  son  and  daughter  are  living  in 
Georgia  somewhere. 

Those  grand  aud  great  men  were  the  outgrowth  of  the  work  here.  The 
two  Harkey's,  Rev.  S.  W.  Harkey,  D.  D.,  became  a  leader  in  the  General 
Synod,  North.  Rev.  Sidney  L.  Harkey,  D.  D.,  has  developed  into  one 
of  the  strongest  men  in  the  General  Council. 

Rev.  Theophilus  Stork,  D.  D.,  became  one  of  the  most  prominent  men 
in  our  American  Lutheran  Church  life.  The  elegant  books  he  wrote  are 
models  of  fine  diction  and  purity  of  style,  and  will  be  and  remain  among 
the  best  productions  of  American  Lutheran  authors.  Then,  too,  it  must 
be  remembered  he  was  one  of  the  finest  preachers  in  his  day  that  our 
Church  possessed,  as  is  eminently  set  forth  in  the  book  of  Dr.  Morris  on 
"The  Stork  family,"  entitled  "Life  Sketches  of  Lutheran  Ministers  in 
America."  He  labored  as  pastor  in  Winchester,  Ya.,  Baltimore,  Md., 
and  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Rev.  Dr.  Theophilus  Stork  was  the  son  of  old  Father  Stork,  and  was 
born  near  Salisbury  in  August,  1814.  He  was  blessed  with  a  son  whom 
he  named  Charles  Augustus,  who  rose  to  high  prominence  as  a  preacher, 
pastor  and  professor.  Mr.  Moody,  who  has  been  nearly  all  over  the 
world,  said  of  him  that  "he  was  the  grandest  preacher  in  Baltimore." 
Rev.  Jas.  H.  Barclay,  D.  D.,  writing  of  him  says:  "If  Dr.  Stork  had  his 
superior  among  us,  we  should  be  glad  to  know  the  name.  As  a  church- 
man, he  was  as  true  as  in  his  friendship.  He  was  a  thorough  Lutheran, 
and  believed,  heart  and  soul,  in  the  doctrines  and  usages  of  our  Church. 
He  had  no  sympathy  with  imitation  of  other  denominatins.  He  knew 
that  the  Lutheran  Church,  doctrinally  was  sound.  He  knew  that  her 
usages  were  among  the  best.  He  stood  by  the  old  ways  and  walked  in 
them,  and  was  a  leader  for  others  who  halted  or  trembled  or  aimed  for 
new  paths."  As  pastor  in  Baltimore,  and  professor  in  the  Theological 
Seminary  at  Gettysburg,  his  name  and  fame  will  be  revered  in  the 
generations  to  come,  and  we  question  if  any  one  will  outshine  him. 

What  a  remarkable  history  is  that  of  the  Scherer  family,  two  of  whom 
ministered  at  the  altar  of  Organ  Church.  We  take  a  glance  at  the  Scherer 
ministers,  Revs.  Jacob  Scherer  and  Daniel  Scherer  were  brothers.  Rev. 
F.  R.  Scherer  lives  in  Kansas;  A.  H.  Scherer  lives  in  Indiana,  Rev.  J.  J. 
Scherer  lives  in  Marion,  Va.,  Rev.  Gideon  Scherer  lives  in  Marion,  Ya., 
Rev.  Simeon  Scherer  lives  in  Marion,  Ya.  The  four  sons  of  Rev. 
Simeon  Scherer  are  Rev.  Luther  P.  Scherer,  Radford,  Va.,  Rev.  W.  J.  D. 
Scherer,  Fairfield,  Pa.,  Rev.  M.  G.  G.  Scherer,  Concord,  N.  C,  Rev. 
Jas.  A.  B.  Scherer,  the  first  Lutheran  Missionary  from  America  to  Saga, 
Japan.  What  a  list.  Eleven  ministers  out  of  one  family,  and  what  a 
glorious  work  the  old  pioneers  did  in  establishing  Churches  even  all  the 


44 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


way  out  to  the  great  city  of  Dayton,  Ohio,  and  in  Illinois;  and  how  the 
younger  brethren  are  zealously  building  up  our  Church. 

We  venture  the  assertion  that  no  other  part  of  the  Church,  and  for  all 
that  of  no  other  Church  can  boast  of  proportionately  greater  men,  or 
better  or  more  men  from  such  humble  beginnings.  Beloved,  it  is  a  grand 
history  when  such  men  of  such  superior  skill  and  power  are  produced  as 
the  first  named,  and  so  many  faithful,  capable  and  devoted  pastors  and 
missionaries  are  given  God  and  the  Church,  by  one  noble  family  in  but  a 
generation  or  two. 

We  are  impressed  still  more  when  we  contrast  the  outlook  then  with 
the  present,  even  if  they  could  then  say  that  Lutherans  were  to  be  found 
in  America  15  years  before  the  Baptists,  65  years  before  the  Presbyterians,. 
140  years  before  the  Methodists.  Their  surroundings  were  harrassing, 
whilst  now  they  are  only  encouraging. 

Then  there  were  no  Lutheran  colleges  in  all  this  land,  for  pastors  and 
parochial  school  teachers  could  be  secured  from  Germany  as  long  as 
everything  was  German  in  our  Church  work.  As  late  as  1845  we  had 
only  seven  schools  of  higher  learning  in  the  United  States  under 
Lutheran  control,  but  oh!  what  strides  we  have  made  since  then,  for  now 
we  have  140  colleges,  seminaries,  etc.,  in  the  United  States,  688  professors 
in  them,  13,500  students. 

No  Church  paper  was  started  until  the  year  IS  1 1 ,  when  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Synod  began  a  German  paper,  and  no  English  paper  was  started 
until  1826,  when  the  Intelligencer  appeared  in  Frederick,  Md.,  edited  by 
Rev.  Mr.  Schaeffer,  and  then  afterwards  the  Lutheran  Observer,  edited 
by  Dr.  Kurtz  at  Baltimore,  started  out  successfully,  and  now  we  have  150 
Lutheran  papers  published  in  the  interests  of  the  Church. 

Then  they  were  almost  without  a  charitable  institution,  now  we  have 
70  of  them. 

There  was  no  English  Lutheran  Church  in  all  this.  land  until  1806, 
when  St,  John's  Church  was  organized  in  Philadelphia,  and  the  pressure 
was  so  strong  against  the  English  in  the  old  Zion  Church  that  1400  votes 
were  cast  against  the  English,  and  in  favor  of  German.  To-day  there 
are  about  1000  English  speaking  Lutheran  congregations. 

There  was  but  one  Synod  up  to  1894,  100  years  ago,  now  there  are  66 
District  Synods  and  38  sub,  or  nearly  100  Synods 

There  were  about  two  dozen  ministers,  now  over  5500,  with  nearly 
10,000  congregations  and  1,325,000  communicants.  Behold,  what  the 
Lord  hath  wrought.  It  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes.  Let  us  then  appreciate 
what  these  pioneer  people,  both  ministers  and  lay  did  in  the  long  ago, 
for  they  did  their  duty,  even  until  death,  and  left  us  a  heritage,  deserving 
to  be  most  devoutly  cherished,  protected,  preserved  and  perpetuated. 

Whilst  we  were  appointed  to  speak  in  memory  of  the  dear  pastor?,  we 
are  not  unmindful  of  the  brave,  loyal,  self-denying  laity  that  lived  and 
labored  with  the  pastors  to  one  common  end,  and  with  one  common 
purpose.  They  too  deserve  onr  highest  admiration,  sincerest  praise  and 
ever-living  gratitude,  for  what  they  did  and  left  for  us. 

We  who  have  come  in  an  age  that  witnesses  the  growing  dim  of  the 
Mohammedan  crescent,  we  who  are  seeing  the  sons  of  the  old  German 


History  of  Organ  Cliurcli. 


45 


Fatherland,  inhabit  Africa  and  Christianize  its  people  as  they  once  did 
this  fair  land,  the  home  of  the  Indian,  we  who  have  seen  the  son  of  one 
of  your  sainted  members,  Rev.  James  A.  B.  Scherer,  sail  over  the  great 
seas  to  give  Japan  the  story  of  the  Cross  and  our  Luther's  Catechism, 
we  who  have  witnessed  our  Lutheran  ministers  go  as  Ambassadors  of 
Christ  to  India  and  to  the  isles  of  the  sea,  we  who  live  when  the  work 
begun  by  you  and  a  faithful  few  elsewhere  has  spread  to  the  California 
coast,  to  the  frigid  North  and  the  plateaus  of  South  America,  we  to 
whom  your  fair  name  and  fame  has  come  bright  as  burnished  steel,  rich 
as  the  lustre  of  gold  or  silver  and  more  enduring  than  all,  we  honor  you, 
love  you,  esteem  you,  and  to  the  coming  generations  hand,  this  day, 
the  history  of  your  lives  and  labors,  that  grow  brighter  and  brighter 
like  the  glory  of  the  rising  sun  on  a  summer  day. 

Having  now  paid  our  tribute  to  these  godly  men,  having  looked  at 
their  lives  and  labors,  having  read  the  roll  of  honor  of  the  noble  dead,  I 
feel  sure  we  all  can  say  of  each  of  them: 

"Of  such  as  he,  there  be  but  few  on  earth; 
Of  such  as  he  there  are  many  in  heaven; 
And  life  is  all  the  sweeter  that  he  lived, 
And  all  he  loved  more  sacred  for  his  sake, 
And  death  is  all  the  brighter  that  he  died, 
And  heaven  is  all  the  happier  that  he  is  there. ' ' 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  address  Rev.  L.  K.  Probst,  Secretary  of  the 
Board  of  Missions  of  the  United  Synod,  offered  the  following  prayer: 

Our  Heavenly  Father,  at  the  close  of  these  exercises  we  thank  thee  for  what  we 
have  seen  and  heard  this  day.  We  are  glad  that  our  attention  has  been  so  inter- 
estingly and  instructively  directed  to  the  early  history  of  this  Church.  We  thank 
thee  that  thou  didst,  in  times  past,  raise  up  men  who  devoted  their  lives  to  the 
preaching  of  thy  word,  and  the  extension  of  thy  kingdom  in  this  place.  We  re- 
joice in  the  work  which  has  already  been  done,  and  for  the  many  souls  which  have 
been  saved  through  the  faithful  labor  of  these,  thy  servants,  the  early  pastors  of 
this  Church.    They  rest  from  their  labors,  and  their  works  do  follow  them. 

And  now,  our  Father,  we  are  called  on  to  pray  for  their  descendants — the  min- 
isters now  living — who  are  preaching  thy  word.  O  wilt  thou  graciously  remember 
them  this  day,  and  bless  them.  We  pray  thee  that  they  also,  in  their  day  and 
generation,  may  be  faithful  to  ever}'  duty,  and  that  they  may  be  the  instruments 
in  thy  hand  for  the  accomplishment  of  much  good  in  the  world.  Especially  we 
pray  thee  that  thou  wilt  very  abundantly  bless  the  young  relative  of  a  departed 
pastor  of  this  Church  who  has  gone  as  one  of  our  missionaries  to  Japan.  Wilt 
thou  be  with  him  as  he  labors  in  that  far  away  land,  and  may  his  life  be  precious 
in  thy  sight.  Give  him  grace  and  strength  for  all  his  work,  and  if  it  seem  good  to 
thee,  give  him,  we  pray,  many  souls  for  his  hire. 

May  we  all  learn  the  lesson  of  this  hour,  and  resolve  anew  to-day  to  strive  to 
faithfully  perform  the  work  thou  hast  given  us  to  do.  Let  thy  rich  blessings  rest 
upon  us  all  as  we  go  away  from  this  place.  Lead  us  through  life  by  thy  Holy 
Spirit,  and  save  us  in  death,  for  Jesus  Christ's  sake.  Amen. 

Before  the  congregation  was  dismissed  Rev.  Mr.  Lutz  suggested  that 
we  gather  around  the  grave  of  Rev.  C.  A.  G.  Storch,  whose  remains  are 
buried  in  the  cemetery  adjoining  the  Church.  Dr.  Rothrock  was  present 
at  the  grave  and  the  Apostle's  Creed  and  the  Lord's  Prayer  were  repeated 
in  concert,  Dr.  Peschau  leading.  After  this  one  stanza  of  "Nearer  my 
God   to  Thee,'"'    was  sung  and  Dr.   Rothrock  pronounced  the  New 


46 


History  of  Organ  Church. 


Testament  benediction,  and  the  centennial  exercises  were  over  and  the 
large  congregation  was  dismissed. 

The  writer  of  this  esteems  it  as  one  of  the  privileges  of  his  life  that  he 
had  the  good  fortune  to  be  present  on  this  memorable  occasion,  and  in 
after  years  will  look  back  to  it  as  one  of  the  oases  in  his  jonroey.  The 
acquaintances  made  and  the  friendships  formed  during  his  annual  visits 
among  the  good  people  of  North  Carolina  will  always  be  remembered 
and  cherished.  May  this  little  pamphlet  do  much  good  in  cherishing 
the  memories  and  sacrifices  of  the  pioneer  Lutherans  and  be  a  means  of 
stimulating  those  now  living  and  those  yet  to  come  to  greater  effort  and 
grander  achievement  is  the  earnest  prayer  of  the  writer.  Other  congre- 
gations should  follow  the  example  of  Organ  Church  and  preserve  their 
history. 

Note. 

Since  this  little  pamphlet  was  first  undertaken  and  the  first  part  was 
printed  another  name  has  been  added  to  the  death  roll  of  the  pastors  of 
Organ  Church.  On  November  2nd,  1894,  Rev.  S.  Rothrock,  D.  D., 
suddenly  and  peacefully  passed  over  the  river  and  rested  from  his 
labors.  He  was  a  good  man  and  had  abounded  in  good  works.  Everybody 
loved  Father  Rothrock.  A  sketch  of  his  life  appears  in  another  part  of 
this  history. 


Date  Due 


NOV  G  <d 







i 

i 

Form  335.    45M  8-37. 


S.C.    204    ass    lae^ja  v.2 

N08--L343074 


N.C  Religious  pamphlets 


DATE  ISSUE°  T° 


N.C.     204    Z99     1860-99  v.2 

No s. 1-13  343074 


